


If I Lose Myself

by TalysAlankil



Series: If I Lose Myself [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Human AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-30
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-01-14 10:42:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 22
Words: 55,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1263322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalysAlankil/pseuds/TalysAlankil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Nico di Angelo and his sister are sent to a summer camp, he’s ready to spend the worst month of his life. Things do not quite go as planned, however.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The first summer after moving to the United States, Maria di Angelo decided that it would be a good idea to send her children to summer camp. An idea which her son did  _not_  appreciate in the slightest. Nico was fourteen years old, the age where teenage awkwardness peaked and thrived on the boy's insecurities. He was too thin, too short, too nerdy; there was always something wrong with him. Being forced to spend a whole month with other kids his age, in spite of what his mom said, could only lead to a disaster. And in fact, it did; just not the kind of disaster Nico had expected.

Camp Half-Blood was the one she had chosen, located on Long Island. It was the corniest name ever given to a summer camp, and Maria had chosen it because she thought Nico would appreciate the Greek mythology theme surrounding it. Which meant that, naturally, Nico hated it.

As soon as Maria dropped him and his sister Bianca at the camp, Nico was ready for something to go horribly wrong; or so he thought. He could not expect what happened as soon as he scanned the crowd of teenagers who were gathered there, all wearing the same gaudy orange t-shirt, greeting each other like old friends. Which they probably were: from what Nico had read on the Internet, most residents came to the camp every year starting at eleven years old. He could have—should have—ignored them all, but his eyes caught on one particular face.

In English, they say 'love at first sight', and in Nico's native Italian, ' _amore a prima vista_ ', which means pretty much the same thing. But in New Orleans, Nico had picked up a little bit of French, and their expression felt a lot more appropriate: ' _coup de foudre_ '. A lightning strike. Sudden, intense, blinding, painful, leaving nothing in its wake.

That was pretty much how Nico felt as he saw that face: his heart could have stopped and he would not notice. The face belonged to a boy, older than him by a few years, much taller than him, whose shirt may have been just a little too tight over lean, but defined, muscles. Even from a distance, Nico noticed the green of his eyes, forming a perfect contrast against his mussed, jet-black hair. He was busy falling into someone else's embrace, laughing all the while.

Short version: he was absolutely gorgeous.

"Nico? Are you okay?" Bianca was eyeing her brother questioningly. Had he beens taring for long? Had Bianca noticed what he'd been staring at? Hopefully not. His sister would never let him live it down. In all likelihood, the only time she wouldn't spend teasing him, she would be trying to set him up with the boy.

"Yeah, 'm fine," he grumbled. One good-looking guy made virtually no difference. He was still stuck at this place for a month, with a whole lot of people who visibly knew each other and thus wouldn't need him. This couldn't get any better. If by 'better' you meant 'worse'.

A few people arrived from inside the camp proper, calling the crowd of teenagers to gather. Calling them adults would be too generous: most of them had been residents themselves one or two years before, at most—they couldn't be over twenty. The only difference between the youngest of them and the oldest of the campers was their shirts, which was white rather than orange. That was how Camp Half-Blood was run: some of the former residents loved it so much that they became staff themselves. How it worked out, Nico had no idea. He supposed he would find out soon enough.

"Hello guys!" one of them said, a young man with sandy hair. Nico supposed he was handsome too, but it barely registered. It was still taking all he had not to look for the other boy in the crowd. "It's so good to see you again! For the new kids, my name's Fred, I'm one of this camp's leaders. Since this is your first day, we'll only ask you to go to the dorms so you can find the bed that's been assigned to you and drop your stuff there. Then you'll go shower in time for dinner, and you'll have free time in the evening to look around. As usual, I'll remind the older kids to help out the new ones. You know the drill. Now go."

Nico picked up his bag, sighing. "Talk about an organization," he muttered, following the crowd to two buildings—the dorms, he supposed. Or, as he heard some of the boys around him call them, the bungalows.

They didn't look like bungalows to Nico: going with the Ancient Greek theme of the place, they were decorated to look like a Hollywood version of Ancient Greece. It was very obvious that the only building of reference used by the designer of this place was the Parthenon: the columns, the triangular pediment above the front door, there were even a few steps to get to said door, even though the building was not above the ground.

The residents were sorted into the bungalows by gender, and thus, Nico and Bianca were separated. His sister cast him one last worried glance, but his only response was a "See you at dinner" before he rushed inside. Bianca's attentions were nice, but he doubted it would do any good if anyone caught him relying on his sister. He could already hear everyone calling him a baby, a girl, or slurs he didn't want to think about.

Inside the bungalow was pretty much a normal dormitory: two rows of bunk beds against the walls, with enough space between them for their occupants' possessions. There was barely any decoration, which was surprising to Nico, considering the outside appearance of the building, but also a relief. The place was in complete and utter chaos: every boy inside seemed to be wandering around aimlessly, but with all of their bags and suitcases, there wasn't enough space in the central space between the beds. The boys seemed to converge towards the oldest residents among them, who were holding sheets of paper, but they were all talking at the same time, preventing Nico from listening to anyone, or understanding anything that was going on.

"You're new, right?" an amused voice called from behind. "Don't worry, they're not like that all month." Nico turned around to the origin of that voice, and staggered almost immediately. Sure enough, it was the boy that had caught his attention earlier, even more gorgeous from up close, with a friendly smile on his face. He also had a sheet of paper in his hands, and held it up. "The dorm's plans. Everyone is assigned a bed in advance, and nobody complains. Well, except for right now, where everybody complains because only the senior residents get the plans. What's your name? I'll look you up."

 _You can look me up anytime_ , was the first thought that crossed Nico's mind. Thankfully, he was still too paralyzed to say anything, and he regained control of his mind before the stupid line reached his lips. With a deep breath, he managed to articulate: "Nico di Angelo."

"Nice to meet you, Nico. I'm Percy. Percy Jackson." He held out his left hand, as he still held his paper in the other, which he was browsing at the same time. Nico awkwardly shook the offered hand, but Percy didn't even seem to notice. "Ah, there. Lucky you, you'll be sleeping right under me."

Before Nico's mind could turn that sentence into a visual, Percy waved him to follow as he cut his way through the crowd. He must be famous around the camp, because the other boys parted before him before Percy even had to ask. Finally, the reached a bunk bed, somewhere near the middle of the left row, and Percy pulled to a stop.

"There we are. You get the bottom bunk, I get the top. Unless you really want the top one. Officially we're not supposed to trade places, but I don't mind. We can just keep it between us."

"No, bottom's fine." Nico was still surprised by his ability to string three words together; he wasn't about to complain about which bed he got. The way Percy treated him was a little too disarming for the sake of his sanity. He couldn't remember anyone, in Italy or New Orleans, acting this… normal to him. "It's fine."

"But is it fine, I wonder?" A smirk had blossomed on Percy's face, and Nico felt a blush creeping up his chin. There, that was closer to the usual treatment Nico got from guys like Percy. A whole lot of mockery. Before Nico could retort anything, however, someone called out Percy's name in the distance. "Sorry, gotta go. There's a whole lot of other guys who still don't know where they'll sleep. Make yourself at home!"

He was gone in a flash, a garish orange flash surmounted by an absolutely perfect face.

Yes, disaster had struck already. Just not the one Nico had been expecting.

* * *

Nico hadn't reacted when the camp leader Fred had announced they would all go shower before dinner. He should have. The showers at Camp Half-blood proved to be the worst form of torture.

They were taken in common by the entire bungalow, in a single, huge room, leaving no room for privacy whatsoever. That alone would have been enough of a pain to Nico: he did not even like being shirtless in public, let alone naked in front of a few dozen teenagers. But, adding to the already long list of preposterous rules of the camp, was this one: for "maximal efficiency", campers had to shower at the exact same spot every day, one that was assigned to them. And of course, the places had been assigned to mirror the dorm.

Showering next to anyone at all was embarrassing. Showering next to Percy Jackson was humiliating, irritating, and incredibly enticing all at once. Getting to see Percy shamelessly naked was awful. That Percy kept up his nice guy routine, and attempted to engage in conversation, was terrible. Having Percy hand him a soap, because Nico had not realized he had to bring his own, and with no second thoughts, was unbearable. And briefly touching Percy's wrist and fingers as Nico took the offered soap was downright pornographic.

All in all, Nico was glad he could control the water's temperature, because without a constantly cold spray on his skin, he was pretty sure the situation would become incredibly more embarrassing.

 _At least he's not offering to scratch my back_ , Nico thought bitterly as he regained the dorm. That a part of him answered with a very vivid image did  _not_  help. Shaking off the thought, Nico rummaged through his bag, pulling out a portable console.

If there was one good thing about living in the United States, it was that games were almost always released earlier; right before being sent off to this camp, Nico had acquired a brand new copy of the  _Mythomagic_  adaptation in video game. Well, the first; Nico hoped there would be more in the future. He lay back on the bed, turning on the console.

Percy's head almost immediately appeared from above. "I wouldn't flaunt that if I were you. Camp policies are strictly against these things. They think it prevents you from socializing."

"Obviously they didn't think not everyone would want to socialize." Nico's stark remark left his mouth before he realized what he was saying, but Percy laughed.

"Yeah, it  _is_  pretty ridiculous. Anyway, I'm just warning you, because Fred and some of the other leaders will be there soon to take us to dinner, and if they catch you with this, they'll take it from you for the whole month."

Nico groaned, but turned off the console. "Awesome. Thanks for the warning, I guess."

"You're welcome. Hey, maybe I can show you around after dinner? There are a few places I know where you can be alone pretty much whenever you need to. And play your game. What do you say?"

"Yes!" The word left Nico's lips before he realized how enthusiastic he sounded. Mentally cursing, he sat up, managed a shrug, and added, "I mean, if you have nothing better to do."

"Of course not!"

Of course not. There was something incredibly upsetting about these words; they could hold so much meaning, or so little. It could be a mere curtesy, an act of kindness, or something more. Nico wanted it to be something more. But he couldn't let himself hope; hoping was dangerous. There was a reason hope had been in Pandora's box, after all.

* * *

The male camp leaders came minutes later, as Percy had warned, to let the boys know it was time for supper. The disorganized crowd that left the bungalow was probably as orderly as the camp would ever get, judging by what Nico had seen so far.

Percy disappeared with his friends, the same ones Nico had seen him greet when he had first arrived at Camp Half-Blood, leaving him alone. It was only when the girls joined them, on a terrace where tables had been set for dinner, that Nico finally noticed a familiar face: Bianca, as well as their cousin, Hazel.

Hazel was one of the people they had lived with, back in New Orleans. Her mother and Nico's mom were adopted sisters, whose parents, a couple of ambassadors, had found during their travels around the world. But just like Maria di Angelo had eventually returned to her native Italy, Marie Levesque had gone back to her home of New Orleans, where she'd had a daughter.

Nico knew that Hazel had been sent to the camp after his mom had decided to send her children, in an attempt to get their children closer. Over the few months spent with her before they'd moved to New Orleans, Nico had grown to like the girl, but they were too dissimilar sometimes to make an actual bond. Still, two people to have dinner with was better than none, and he was grateful for Hazel's presence; even more so when Bianca left them to join another group of girls her age.

Dinner flew by, and all of a sudden, most of the residents scattered on the camp's grounds, in small groups, or in some case, in couples. Bianca had followed her new friends, and soon enough, Hazel left as well, with a boy named Frank, who, in spite of being her age—thus younger than Nico—was much taller than him. She offered Nico to come along, but he declined, unwilling to be the awkward third wheel to his cousin.

He lingered at the terrace a short while longer, before heading back to the dorm. However, just as he did, a hand clasped around his arm, startling him. He knew what this was already: some of the boys had decided he was alone, and therefore, an easy target. They were right, of course.

His glare met confused green eyes. "Hey, no need to look so  _grim_!" It was Percy. Of course it was Percy. "You still up for that secret tour of the place I offered you?"

"I didn't remember it being a  _secret_  tour," Nico retorted. Then, a little more calmly, he added, "I thought you'd just, you know, left with your friends or whatever. Which would be fine. You don't owe me anyth—"

"Dude. I promised you. That would be so not okay." The serious, almost offended expression on Percy's face was as preposterous as it was adorable. "Come on, let's go."

They were soon almost completely in the dark: the terrace and the bungalows were the only places with sources of light, and night had fallen quickly and surprisingly over dinner. Only then did Nico find the courage to ask something to Percy.

"Why— why are you doing this?"

Percy paused and looked back at him, confused. "Doing what?"

"Showing me around. And just… being nice to me."

Percy crossed his arms in front of him. "I'd like to think I'm a nice guy." His tone was a little defensive, but Nico had to press on. He had to know. If this was all an elaborate prank, it was better that Nico knew about it sooner than later.

"But why  _me_?"

"Look. There's one rule at the camp that the leaders didn't make up—it's more of an unspoken rule between all the residents. The guy who shares your bunk bed? He's like your partner for the entirety of the month. A sacred bond and all. And since you're new, it means I should take care of you." He chuckled. "But I would still like to think I'm a nice guy. And you look like one too. Do you really need more?"

Did he? "No, I guess not."

A strange expression crossed Percy's features for a moment—too brief for Nico to decipher it—before it was replaced by a large grin. "Well, we'd better keep going. I want to show you something in the woods. It's pretty dark in there at night, you should hold my hand."

Nico complied. Happily.

If it was going to be one huge prank against him, he might as well enjoy it while he could.


	2. Chapter 2

Percy and Nico were among the last to head back to the dorm, and Nico was more smitten than ever. In spite of the hand-holding, the 'secret tour' had been predictably, irritatingly platonic. And yet, Nico was not disappointed by it. At least, he now felt more confident about his ability to talk normally to the guy, which was a good start. A good start in what direction, Nico was not entirely sure, but he had plenty of time to figure it out.

It had been a very strange evening to Nico, rushing from one place to another, barely ever staying in place. Percy was constantly dynamic, always on the move; and yet, he managed to balance that with constantly making sure Nico was keeping up with him. His movements were a dance, a tightly-orchestrated ballet for Nico's eyes only, and designed specifically for him as well.

Nico did the only reasonable thing in this situation, and enjoyed the hell out of it, not daring to do anything that would break the spell. He could have asked a million questions, just to find out if he would ever get a chance with Percy— _do you have a girlfriend, how do you feel about gay people, can I just kiss you already_ —but he didn't. Asking would give himself away, and ruin the moment; he could do it later. And if he couldn't, well, he still had this night. Even if he didn't get a boyfriend out of this, it looked like he had gotten a friend. Nico didn't have too many of those either.

The following morning was a hurried blur. Camp Half-Blood had a very tight schedule of activities for its residents, most of the competitive, and most of them performed in pairs. Suddenly, the 'sacred bond' Percy had mentioned made a lot more sense: practically everyone ended up teaming up with the person sharing a bunk bed with them. And that included Percy, who came to find a very confused Nico as everyone was gearing up for a competition to get to the top of a climbing wall.

The older boy was carrying two harnesses with him. He tossed one to Nico, who fumbled his way into putting it on. Percy noticed, chuckled, and said, "Here, let me help you." He moved closer to Nico, checking each of the straps one by one, unwittingly electrifying Nico's skin with every touch. By the time Percy was done, Nico was surprised he could still stand straight, or that Percy hadn't noticed anything.

He barely had time to catch his breath before the race started. Each pair had to race up the wall simultaneously, as their harnesses were connected by a short length of rope. And as Nico feared, Percy, with his tall frame, and his musculature, and his many years spent at the camp, was excellent at this. Really, Nico didn't understand who thought it was fair to pitt all the kids against each other regardless of age.

Nico, on the other hand, had always been a nerd, and very happy to fit most aspects of the stereotype, including no experience in any physical activity whatsoever. When their turn came, Percy practically flew upwards while Nico was still looking for a few holds he could use to start. It was only a matter of seconds until Percy was slowed down by him, and then things would go horribly wrong.

Or so Nico thought. Percy stopped before the rope connecting them was even tight, and called out to him. "Follow after me!"

Confused, Nico looked at the path that Percy had taken upwards, and noticed that the holds there should be within his reach. He hurried over there and started climbing, quickly surprised at how little effort it seemed to require.

The rope at his harness bumped against his arm, indicating that Percy was moving again, and Nico looked up to see which way he was taking, determined to follow him. That proved to be a terrible mistake, however: with the harness tightening his clothes, the view over Percy's ass was  _fantastic_. Nico's brain short-circuited again, but only briefly, as the tug of his harness shook him out of his contemplation.

If the exercise had seemed easy at first, it soon ceased to be: Nico's arms were aching, his hands felt like they would slip any moment, and if he looked down, he was sure to be greeted with the pure terror of a several-meters fall. This was enough to force Nico to focus, one movement at a time.

And then, all of a sudden, there were no more hold to grab above him; instead, his hand found Percy's, who helped him reach the top of the wall. There, Nico collapsed, fighting to catch his breath.

"Not bad at all, for a first time."

Nico stared at Percy. "Yeah, right. I don't think we were the fastest."

"Dude, who cares about winning? I'm sure you'll have a very respectable time, and that's all that matters. You really gave it your all."

"You did all the job. How did you even know I could follow you?"

"It's my seventh year here. I've had a lot of time to figure out all the possible routes. I just used one that I used to take a few years ago, when I was your age."

His seventh year. Since the camp only admitted children from eleven to seventeen, that meant Percy was the latter—and that this would be his last year at Camp Half-Blood. Somehow Nico felt sad to hear it. "Right. Well, thanks."

"You're welcome. Hey, if you keep this up I'm sure I can even get you up to speed. There'll be other races to win."

Percy's grin, and his optimism, were dangerously contagious. "I'll do my best." He paused, noticing that another pair was getting ready to climb. "So… how do we get down?"

Percy stood up. "That's the best part. Over here."

Nico wasn't sure he wanted to stand on top of this wall, which suddenly looked way too narrow for comfort. But Percy was already making his way to one end of it, and because of the rope still tied between them, Nico had no choice but to follow, albeit much more slowly.

As he caught up, Percy pulled a contraption hanging above him, connected to a cable that hung above the wall, and far from it, all the way to the nearby lake—a giant zip-line. As soon as Nico saw it, he guessed what was going to follow.

"Before we go, I have to ask: can you swim?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, but… wait, I— I'm not sure I want to do that."

Percy paused. "Come on, there's nothing to worry about!" That did little to reassure Nico, and Percy seemed to notice on his face. "Hold on, I've got an idea." Instead of connecting the contraption to either of their harnesses, he fixed it to the rope connecting both of them. "There. Now we can go together."

"I'm pretty sure that's even  _less_  safe."

"Nah, I've done it a billion times. It's fine. You just hold on to me, and I'll make sure we get down safely."

Nico had to admit, the prospect of holding on to Percy did most of the convincing. And there was no visible alternative, anyway—except for climbing down, which he was not sure he was ready for. "Alright, whatever."

"Okay. Grab on, and just jump when I tell you to." He took Nico's arms before he could move at all, and secured one around his own waist, and the other to his shoulders. "Ready?" He wrapped an arm against Nico's own waist, while he held the rope between them with his other hand.

Nico refused to answer, because he was fairly certain a 'no' would do nothing at this point, and yet, a 'yes' would be a complete lie. So instead, he just grabbed on a little tighter, a little closer, to Percy, and nodded against his chest. Immediately, his entire world was reduced to the orange of Percy's shirt, and his scent, close to sea breeze and reminding Nico of days spent at a beach in Ostia, when he was a kid. The only sound that still existed was Percy's breathing, and his heartbeat.

Until his voice broke through it all. "Jump!"

Against all odds, Nico managed to pull himself from his daze and follow Percy's movement, jumping into the air.

For a short moment, time seemed to stop, and Nico felt weightless. He was in midair, free-falling, about to die—or at least, that was what his brain told him. Percy's presence, close to him, was a comfort, a rock in a storm. And then they started moving along the zip-line, and it all shattered. They picked up speed, and the feeling was… strangely exhilarating. Nico's heartbeat, already fast after the climbing and all the  _Percy_  that had happened, picked up speed even more, but for once, it wasn't painful.

Percy whooped with pure, utter glee, and Nico couldn't help but let out a semi-nervous laugh, all the while gripping to the other boy as tight as he could. It was an entrancing feeling, sure, but it was also  _terrifying_.

It seemed to last forever, and yet, a small, almost mute, part of himself, was still aware that only a few seconds had passed when Percy spoke again, yelling to make sure Nico would hear him in spite of the wind. "Get ready; we'll drop soon."

 _Drop?_  What did he mean, drop—

Suddenly, a mechanical sound came to Nico's ears from above; one he did  _not_  like. And just as suddenly, he was no longer flying along the zip-line, nearly horizontal now. He was free-falling: for real, this time.

Looking down, he caught sight of the lake, a couple meters below him. He barely had time to hold his breath before he and Percy crashed into the water's surface. They sank for a few seconds, and Nico let go of Percy, furiously trying to kick his way upwards. Percy's arm did not let go of him, though, and soon, Nico felt himself being pulled up by the other boy.

That was just unfair. Nico was a decent swimmer; did Percy really have to be better at that  _too_? As they reached the surface, Nico would have gotten mad, but they were in the middle of a lake, and Percy's arm was still around him, keeping him close. There was no way he could be mad at Percy right now. And that was even  _worse_.

"So, what did you think?"

"I am going to  _kill_  you."

"Wait until we get to shore; I wouldn't want you to have to drag my corpse along."

His deadpan answer made Nico giggle. "Okay, it was  _kind of_  fun." The smile that grew on Percy's face should have been illegal.

They swam to the shore, and Percy worked on getting rid of their harnesses. Nico was too exhausted to even be upset anymore when Percy worked on his; especially not after being so close to him on the zip-line. He was  _not_ , however, too exhausted to look at Percy's wet clothes and hair cling to his skin. Too bad the camp's imposed shirt was a very opaque orange and not white, but this was already quite a sight to behold.

They walked back to the climbing wall together, and Nico was suddenly mortified when he realized that everyone had seen them ride the zip-line together. And yet, not one mocking comment came their way. Percy's two friends, that Nico had already seen from afar at dinner last night, came to them.

"Really, Percy? You had to do this again?"

Percy shrugged. "Nico was too scared to go alone, Jason. You would have done the same."

The other—Jason—scoffed. "I don't think so. Security measures are there for a reason." His expression softened quickly with a smile, and he turned to Nico. "Anyway. Good to see you're still in one piece; with Percy as a partner, that's an achievement. It's your first time here, isn't it? I'm Jason Grace."

"Nico di Angelo. And yes, it is."

"Dude, it's your first time?" Percy's other friend looked shocked. "You guys are ranked fifth at the moment!"

Percy stretched his arm, a cocky grin on his face. "Well, you know how it is, Grover. I've got awesome leadership skills."

"Right." Jason's deadpan tone was merciless; and yet, Nico couldn't help but like that.

"Well, tell them, Nico!"

Nico stared at the three of them, before shrugging. "Yeah, you did lead the way, I guess."

"See? Told you!"

Their banter continued, easy and natural, but Nico wasn't sure if he fit in their group. He definitely wasn't able to talk most of the time, with how loud Percy and Grover were. Eventually, he tuned them out, as Bianca and her partner—an older girl named Thalia— started climbing the wall.

Bianca was much more agile than Nico, and Thalia, who Jason told Nico was his sister, was also a veteran at the camp. Together, they went up the wall with incredible efficiency, carving their own paths individually, unlike Nico, who'd had to rely on Percy the whole way. They were up much faster, and placed second, only defeated by two girls named Clarisse and Silena.

In the final ranking, Nico and Percy were seventh, which was apparently a good thing, judging by his, Jason's, and Grover's reactions. When the announcement was made, Percy wrapped an arm around Nico's shoulder. "See? Not bad at all. I told you: we'll make a champion out of you. They'll all bow down to you!"

Nico couldn't really bring himself to really care about the competition, but he was unable to stay completely aloof next to Percy's enthusiasm. So he just went along. "I wanted to achieve world domination, but I guess I'll settle with this camp for now."

"That's the spirit!" Percy laughed. "Come on, let's have lunch. I'm starving."

Just like that, Nico was invited along. Just like that, Nico belonged.


	3. Chapter 3

Being accepted into a group of friends was a new experience to Nico, and a pleasant one. But it came without a fairly obvious downside: frustration. A  _whole lot_  of frustration. The zip-line was just the beginning: it quickly became apparent that Percy was the sort of person who manifested their affection in very physical ways. And while Nico could deal with a heartwarming hug here and there, the concerto of fluttering touches that Percy seemed to be playing for him was driving him insane. It all culminated during his fifth night at Camp Half-Blood.

After the first evening, the residents never had another free evening, and the curfew was much more strictly imposed by the camp leaders. Gathering around fifty teenage boys in one dark room, in beds, resulted in a very predictable outcome. Every night, there would always be a few who would think everyone else was asleep, or think that they were more silent that their peers. Unless they just gave in to their hormones. One way or another, every night, Nico's keen hearing caught the noise of skin rubbing against skin, of shortening breaths, of bedsheets moving along with the movement of the bodies under them.

That teenage boys masturbated did not exactly surprise him; he was one himself. That they would do it in a dorm was even understandable, considering how little privacy they were given. If anything, he was bothered by his own inability to shut off the sounds and go to sleep.

Then came that fifth night, and these same sounds came from a much nearer source than usual: the bunk right above him.

Nico had to give it to Percy: he wasn't  _as_  obvious as most of the others. And he at least had the decency to wait for an hour or so after lights off. Nico had already been drifting off, and wouldn't have noticed anything, but Percy's shuffling shook his own bed for a brief moment, startling him awake. The shuffling soon made a lot of sense when Nico caught a glimpse of Percy's shirt hanging from above, followed by his shorts, which slipped to the floor.

A faint cursing reached Nico's ears, but Percy made no move to recover them, and after one silent minute or so, came the characteristic sound of caresses, very slow at first, picking up speed progressively. Nico's treacherous imagination took over, resisting all forms of repression. It didn't even have to work all that much; he'd had to shower right next to Percy five times now, and knew every curve and line of the boy's body better than his own. By the time Percy's short breaths became audible, Nico's skin felt like it had been set on fire, and arousal coursed through his body, turning it into an inferno.

His left hand found its way into his boxers before he had properly realized it, and he was completely unable to will it out. Suddenly, Nico understood all the other boys—Percy included, damn him—and before he knew it, his underwear was around his ankles, his too-hot blanket was pushed aside, and his movements matched what he imagined Percy's were.

Nico was careful to make as little noise as possible, not so much out of a care for discretion—his mind was unable to think about that right now—but so he could focus on Percy's low, so very low, moans. Too low for anyone else but Nico to hear, but they guided him, shaped an imaginary scene where Percy was no longer alone, but with Nico, where those moans were the result of  _his_  actions, and his name was almost on Percy's lips.

The image was too vivid, Percy and his goddamn voice were too close, Nico was too eager. Everything was all soon drowned in a whiteout, washed away by the orgasm that hit him.

When he came down, he realized that he  _may_  have been a little loud himself. He hadn't cried out or anything, but he was fairly sure that Percy at least had heard his heavy breathing. He would just have to face that later.

He hadn't even thought of taking off his t-shirt, and it was now wet and sticky with his own semen. Sighing, he took it off; he could just wear another one, and hopefully put this one in the pile of dirty laundry without anyone noticing.

When his shirt hit the floor, a slightly louder moan came from above, and Nico realized that Percy  _must_  have heard him throwing the shirt away. Unable to decide whether to be embarrassed, or intrigued that Percy hadn't thought it necessary to stop even though Nico was awake, Nico buried himself under his blanket, closing his eyes and willing this night to just  _end_  already.

A few minutes later, a loud, dull thump forced him to open his eyes again. Percy had jumped down from his bunk, and he groped around in the dark until he found his fallen shorts. Even in the dark, Nico could make out his shape easily, and see that he hadn't considered it necessary to put his shirt back on—or anything else. And even though he had seen him naked before, and with the lights on, there was something much more enticing about it now. Perhaps because the darkness made it seem forbidden, or because of what they'd both just done.

It only lasted for a minute, though, before Percy found his shorts, put them back on, then climbed back into his bunk.

Silence fell back on the dorm, but Nico didn't fall asleep for a long time.

* * *

The next morning was surprisingly normal… for about two minutes. As soon as sunlight filtered through the windows, Nico was awake, as usual—really, whose idea was it to not shield the windows in a dorm? Then his eyes fell over his discarded t-shirt, and he was suddenly half-jumping, half-falling out of bed, rushing to the basket of dirty clothes.

None of the boys were out of bed yet, but when he regained his own bunk, Percy cast him a curious glance from above.

"You slept shirtless?" A grin was growing on his face, dangerously wicked.

Nico groaned, grabbing another orange shirt—the camp had given him five in total. "Yeah, I was too hot last night." Not completely a lie, now that he thought about it.

"I bet you were." Nico froze under the remark, suddenly remembering that Nico had probably heard him at some point. His skin turned red in an instant, but Percy didn't elaborate. Instead, he jumped out of bed, landing right next to Nico—close enough for Nico to notice the musky note added in his scent, and to remember last night a little too vividly. "Anyway, what are your plans for today?"

"I should have plans?"

"Dude, it's Saturday. There are no organized activities on weekends. Well, there are a few, but it's not compulsory."

"Oh." Nico had read about that, but it had slipped his mind. "I don't know. What are your plans?"

"The usual. We meet up with the other people who ranked high, get to know the newcomers. And it's also a good opportunity for us to gather as friends."

"'Those who ranked high'? I thought the competition didn't matter?"

Percy shrugged. "Not to me. But to the rest of the camp, of course it does. People like to have champions. But it's a lot of fun, you'll see. I mean, if you want to come along."

"You mean I can come?"

Percy looked surprised by the question. "Of course. You're with me, remember?"

Nico became a little too conscious of their proximity in that moment.  _You're with me_ , Percy said, but he didn't mean. Not the way Nico wanted. A rational part of him said that he should step back, put some distance between them, calm down and stop the fantasy; but he was already in too deep, he had already fallen—hard. As soon as Percy had decided that they were friends, it was too late. He  _couldn't_  step away without hurting himself anymore. All he could do was hop along and enjoy the ride while it lasted.

"All right, I'll come with you guys. I mean, why not, right?"

* * *

Nico followed Percy, Jason and Grover to a building they referred to as 'the pavilion'. Located not too far from the bungalows, it was a wooden cabin, large enough to house at least a dozen people quite comfortably. However, it wasn't used for housing. The upper floor, Grover told him, was used to store most of the camp's equipment during the months when no one was around.

As for the lower floor, it was where the party took place. It was just one single room, lined to one side with a bar—although it lacked the usual alcohols one would expect to find behind a bar—and equipped entirely for entertainment. Stools stood in front of the bar, and a few tables lined another wall, pushed against each other to make space, with chairs stacked on top. Across the room from them, there was a vast empty space, equipped with a few speakers and spotlights—a small, improvised dance floor.

On the other side of the dance floor from the bar, there was a pool table, while the rest of the room was furnished with two sets of comfortable couches and chairs. There was also a television, and Nico noticed a few consoles plugged into it.

No one was there, however, and Nico turned to the others. He'd long stopped fearing everything to be a prank, but this was still intriguing. "Where's everyone?"

"We're the lowest-ranking," Jason said grimly, with a dark glance at Percy. "So we have to make everything ready before the others arrive. Then we have breakfast as usual, and finally, we'll come back here.  _That's_  when the party starts."

Nico was surprised by how much resentment was in his voice, but Percy just shrugged it off. "Come on, Jason, let's take care of bringing in the drinks. Grover, Nico, can you place the tables while we're gone?"

"Sure!" Grover sounded unreasonably excited at the prospect of moving tables. Jason left after Percy, leaving Nico alone with him.

Piqued by curiosity, Nico immediately started questioning Grover as they worked. "So… what's the deal with Jason today?"

"Oh. He never had to do this before. He's always been much closer to the top."

"But… he looked angry at Percy."

"Yeah. He and Jason were rivals for a long time, but last year, they were partners instead. They ended up at the top of the ranking all summer long. And since we're veterans this year, we could request to be paired with someone, so Jason thought Percy would pick him again, but then Percy let me be with Jason so that I could have a shot at being in the lead."

"But why didn't he pick you as his own partner, then?" Before Grover could answer, another question crossed Nico's mind. "Wait, does that mean Percy  _picked_  me?"

"Kinda. He saw there was a new guy who wasn't a junior—that doesn't happen a lot here. I think he wanted to help you fit in? But anyway, I didn't want to be Percy's partner. It got him in trouble last time we were partners, so I promised I wouldn't let him pick me this year."

"Really? What happened?" Nico was only half-listening, though.  _He picked me_. That thought bounced in his head over and over again. It was stupid; Percy didn't even  _know_  him when he picked him. But it still felt groundbreaking.

"Not sure I should be the one telling you. You should ask Percy."

Nico stare at him for a moment, intrigued, but nodded. That wasn't really any of his business.

* * *

Percy and Jason returned, and the rest of the morning went according to plan. After breakfast, they returned to the pavilion, and this time, weren't alone. Percy introduced Nico to all of them, starting with the currently uncontested champions, Clarisse and Silena. The others were all a blur of names and faces which Nico doubted he would memorize all at once—Piper and Reyna, the twins Travis and Connor, Luke and Octavian, Annabeth and Rachel, and a few more who didn't even register.

And of course, there was Bianca and her partner, Thalia. "Nico! I'm so glad to see you here," his sister said, and hugged him.

Percy paused. "So… you know each other then?"

"That's my sister, Bianca. I already told you about her, you idiot."

Nico's word caused Thalia to smirk. "I like your brother's attitude," she told Bianca, pretending to whisper.

Percy shifted uncomfortably under the girls' gaze. "Right. Well, nice to meet you, Bianca. I'm Percy."

"I know. I'm glad to see someone's taking care of Nico. How did you even convince him to come?" An embarrassed blush crept up Nico's face. But it was still not the worst it could be. If he so much as looked at Percy, Bianca would be able to read him like an open book—she always did. And then things would get awkward.

"It wasn't hard at all. I'm a pro at getting people out of their shells."

Bianca glanced at Nico suspiciously. "I'm sure you are."

"Well, we don't want to keep you two to ourselves," Thalia said. "Come on, Bianca. Didn't you say you wanted to challenge me to a pool game?"

* * *

The party started, and never stopped. They spent the entire day in the pavilion, but there was so much to do that Nico never grew bored. There was just no time to; and no one seemed intent on rejecting him. Having a few friends was definitely helping, but soon, Nico found himself hanging out even with people he didn't know yet.

Late in the afternoon, Reyna heard (via Piper, because Jason had told her, who knew because of Percy) that Nico played Mythomagic, and challenged him to a duel, with Piper and Jason watching over them as a somewhat distracted, kissing audience.

Nico won by a narrow margin, but Reyna seemed happier to have found a worthy opponent than bitter about defeat. However, they didn't have a lot of time to talk about it, because Piper snatched Reyna almost immediately and dragged her to the dance floor, where they were now playing music. The girls' familiarity towards each other was a little disconcerting to Nico, especially after how she had just been all over Jason, but the older boy didn't seem to mind—on the contrary.

Jason caught Nico's puzzled stare, and replied with a smile. "You don't want to know."

"What if I do?"

"You'll have to wait a few years, then. Although I doubt you'd be into that anyway." He rose an eyebrow at Nico. "You know you're pretty obvious when you stare at Percy."

Nico froze, mortified, then cast a glance around to see if anyone heard Jason—but there was no one within earshot. "So what?"

Jason shrugged. "So nothing. If you ask me, you'd be really cute together." Nico could hardly do anything but stare in shock. "Well, I shouldn't play matchmaker. Piper would kill me if she heard me. Just—keep it in mind, okay?"

"I—guess?" Nico wasn't sure what else to say.

Jason chuckled and got up from the couch, joining the girls on the dance floor. But he hadn't dropped the subject, as Nico realized a few hours later.

Night had fallen, the party was drawing to a close, and Nico had gone back to sitting in one of the couch. The whole day had been enjoyable, but it was becoming a little too much for him.

A hand clapped on Nico's shoulder; looking up, he realized it was Percy. "Jason said you wanted to talk to me in private?" he asked, concerned.

"Um—" Nico was confused at first; then, he found Nico in the crowd, who smiled brightly at him and raised both thumbs.  _I am going to kill him_. But then again… why not? Jason knew Percy better than Nico did. And after all, he'd decided to enjoy what he had with Percy while it lasted—perhaps it was time to put an end to it. After the previous night, Nico wasn't sure he could take a lot more. Gulping nervously, he managed to say, weakly, "Yeah."

"Okay. Come on, then."

He led the way upstairs, to the storage room. It was mostly empty at the moment, although a few props still lay here, unused for a while if the dust was any indication. Percy closed the door behind them, then turned to Nico. "So, what is it?"

Nico sighed, suddenly incapable to string two words together. It was one thing to decide to take Jason's push, but it was another to actually spit out the words. So he chose another angle of attack. "Did you really pick me as your partner?"

"Yeah, how do you know about that?"

"Why did you act like you didn't know about me, then? On the first day."

Percy shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't want you to think that I'm creepy. Wait, is that really what you wanted to talk about? We could have done that downstairs."

"No, it's just—" Nico's voice died in his throat. Obviously that hadn't been the right way to go.

He could still back down, pretend there was nothing. But he didn't. One last thought went through his mind:  _Fuck it_. Then he closed the distance between him and Percy, awkwardly reaching up to grab the back of his neck and pull his face down, and crashing his own lips against the other boy's.

Percy let out a shocked whimper, but his arms wrapped gently around Nico's shoulders, and he didn't move away. However, he didn't exactly kiss Nico back either. As for Nico, he was too shocked by his own sudden boldness, and lacked the experience to know what he should do.

So he just pulled back, embarrassed and unable to look at Percy anymore. "I'm sorry." He took a step backwards, and Percy let him go.

"Nico—"

"Don't say it," Nico said, taking a few quick steps back, and looking away from Percy. "You're straight; of course you're straight. It was just wishful thinking."

"Um…" Percy sounded puzzled, and when Nico managed to look back at him, he saw his gaze was confused. "Not really?"

Silence fell between them, seeming to stretch for an eternity.

"What do you mean, 'not really'?"

"As I said, I really like you. I mean, I—  _really_ —  _like_  you." He detached the words in the last sentence, leaving no room for ambiguity. "It's just… well… you're too young!"

Nico stared at Percy for a good minute before a word finally managed to cross his lips. "What."

"You're only fourteen, Nico. I'd feel like I'm taking advantage of you or something."

Nico's brain finally processed the information. "So you're saying that— that if I had been older— you would have—" Nico's words died in a strangled frustration, at his own inability to find the right words, at the ridicule of the situation. Of all the things that could have gone wrong, his  _age_  was the reason Percy rejected him?

"Hey." Percy gently cupped Nico's face with a hand. "I'm sorry. I'm sure it's a huge disappointment. But it wouldn't be right."

Frustration turned to anger, and Nico pulled away. "You know, if it's all just a joke, you could just tell me." He remembered his doubts on the first day; when had they left him? That was what happened when he dared to hope.

"It's not. Believe me, it's not. Just— in a few years, if we're both still single, maybe we can try again?"

"In a few years? We'll never see each other at the end of the  _month_! That's the whole  _point_!"

Percy's expression darkened with hurt. "Why not? We're friends, aren't we? Did you really think I'd say goodbye and never see you again? We even live in the same city! What sort of guy do you think I am?"

 _Friends_. A death sentence would have been just as pleasant to hear. To think that Nico had come to terms with that very same concept barely a few days ago; that he'd been okay with being friends with Percy even just minutes ago. "You shouldn't have told me."

"What?"

"You tell me you like me, but you still don't want me? It would have been easier if you'd just lied." He walked past Nico, towards the door.

Percy caught his arm. "Nico, wait."

"Let me go." His voice hadn't been as calm as he'd wanted, but at least he'd managed not to scream.

Percy obeyed, but it didn't stop him from speaking. "I meant what I said. And— in the meantime, I hope we  _can_  still be friends."

Nico paused by the doors. Could they? Being friends with Percy, and with the others, had felt so easy. It was the first time he made real friends. On one hand, he wasn't sure he could stand being anywhere close to Percy anymore. On the other… if he was honest, Percy had given him a much better answer than what Nico had expected. Not only did he accept the boy's attraction, he reciprocated it—at least somewhat.

But all these rational thoughts pained to pass through the haze of heartbreak. So, before he could say anything he regretted, Nico opened the door, and hurried downstairs. He didn't pause there one second, immediately rushing outside, not caring who would notice.


	4. Chapter 4

Nico was tempted to find some place to isolate himself for a while, but the thought that someone would worry—that maybe Percy himself would stay awake until he came back—kept him from it, and he returned to the dorm instead. But as he settled into his own bed, he sorely regretted Camp Half-Blood's complete lack of intimacy.

His brain was still going on overdrive, replaying his memories of the past few minutes. The taste of Percy's lips was still on his, in spite of how brief the kiss had been, and the salt of it felt like a fire against the open wound in Nico's heart.

But that defeat was bittersweet—a strange word to use in a positive light, but it felt extremely appropriate. Percy liked him.  _Liked_  him. Liked  _him_! Nico wasn't sure which part of the sentence made the least sense to him, and yet, it was true.

Conflicting emotions battled inside of Nico, and he couldn't untangle them. But, when Percy came back in the dorm, along with the other boys, he knew that he couldn't stay mad at him. No matter how much it hurt to be near him, being mad at him, keeping away from him, would be worse.

Percy knelt next to him. "You're still awake?" he asked in a very quiet whisper.

Nico wouldn't have been able to pretend if he'd wanted to. He rolled on his side to face him. "Yeah."

Percy nodded. "Okay. I— Do you—"

"I'm not mad at you, if that's what you want to know."

Percy let out a hushed gasp. "You— all right. Awesome. But—"

"If you want to talk, can we do it some other time?" Nico was fairly sure that least Jason, who occupied the bunk bed right next to theirs with Grover, was listening.

"Okay. But I—"

"Go to sleep, you idiot." Nico chuckled, then turned his back to Percy.

"Right." Percy climbed on his bunk, and silence fell back on the dorm.

Nico doubted that either of them slept much that night, though.

* * *

Breakfast was painfully awkward. Nico had gone with Percy, Jason and Grover, as he always did, but this meant that he still couldn't talk to Percy. He wasn't even sure of what he would tell him when he did, but nothing could be worse than this.

They were soon joined by Reyna and Piper, however, which provided a nice change of pace, and an easy distraction for Nico, whom Reyna took aside to discuss Mythomagic.

"So how come you two never hung out with us before?" Nico asked Reyna in the middle of a discussion of the pros and cons of Hera—which they were both severely biased against. "Aren't Piper and Jason together?"

"Yes. Well, Piper, Jason and me." Nico was completely taken aback by her matter-of-fact admission, but she didn't seem to notice. "But we took a break until yesterday—Piper and I couldn't stand his hissy fit over Percy 'abandoning him'."

"So what changed?"

Reyna stared at him for a short while, eyeing Jason cautiously. "Don't tell anyone I told you this, but I think what changed was that he went from possessively defensive of Percy to shipper frenzy. And when I say 'I think', I mean Piper is absolutely certain of it, and she's the expert."

Shipper frenzy? Nico narrowed his eyes. "What did he tell you?"

"To me? Not much; you boys can do whatever you want as far as I'm concerned. But he told Piper, and Piper loves meddling in romantic affairs. If you need advice on how to ask Percy out, you should ask her."

"Hmm." Nico remained silent, preferring not to share on last night's disaster. Well, semi-disaster. Or whatever he should call it.

Reyna only chuckled at his apparent discomfort. "Or not. I'm not sure you're ready to face the fury of an unleashed Piper. Just do whatever feels right."

Whatever feels right… That would be kissing Percy again. Preferably right now. But he wasn't sure that would be a good idea. Or was it? It was all too confusing.

* * *

"So what're your plans for today, boys?" Piper asked as breakfast came to an end.

"Nothing," Percy replied immediately.

"Well that was very constructive, thank you."

"No, I mean I plan to do nothing. I'm gonna need  _some_  rest. Besides, we have the senior party in two weeks, I don't think we really need to make the most of the other weekends with that coming."

Percy had told Nico about the senior party. During the third weekend of the month, the oldest residents were allowed out of camp for the night, as well as some of the younger ones if they managed to convince the camp leaders. Where exactly they would go, or what they would do, Nico had no idea, but Percy had been very excited about it. However, Nico wondered just if bringing it up now was an excuse.

Piper was about to argue, but Jason interrupted her. "I think we could all use some down time."

She glared at him, but eventually shrugged. "Fine. Suit yourself." She rose from the table in one swift movement, and strolled away. After exchanging a worried glance, Jason and Reyna went after her, but Piper just laughed as they caught up, and the three of them left the terrace together.

"So, Nico…" Nico almost jumped when Percy called his name. "Didn't you say you wanted to, um—"

"Right." Nico could have laughed at Percy's inability to find a convincing excuse to get away from Grover, but he was too nervous for that. "I have something to show you." Plain, simple; hopefully Grover would get the hint. But Nico didn't want to find out. "Come on, let's go." He stood up as well, half-dragging a confused Percy behind him.

He led them into the woods, to the first hiding place he remembered Percy showing him.

"Okay. Well, that was direct," Percy said, amused.

"What did you want to talk about?"

Percy sighed. "Are you sure you're okay? I mean, that  _we're_  okay?"

"Yes, I told you last night."

"If you have something to say, you should get it out."

"I'm fine."

"Yeah, but—"

"Look, I won't pretend it's not disappointing, but… it's still better than I expected. I can handle a 'no'. I think."

Percy paused, a confused look in his eyes. "Well, what did you expect, then?"

Nico shrugged. "I don't know. Being rejected by everyone. Maybe even worse. Having to leave camp early for my own safety. It happened before." And he hadn't even kissed anyone, those other times—but he kept that detail to himself.

Percy chuckled. "Yeah, that's not gonna happen here. Oh, I'm sure  _some_  people wouldn't like it, but not us. You should've known."

"Yeah, I guess I should have. But I learned to hide for survival. It's hard to let it go."

"Hey, I get it. But it's all right now." Percy awkwardly stepped forward, and took Nico in his arms.

Nico couldn't help but chuckle. "What the hell are you doing?"

"You look like you need a hug. So I'm giving you one."

"You are ridiculous." Still, Nico let himself be pulled a little closer, and rested his forehead against Percy's shoulder.

"So… what now?" Nico asked after a moment.

"I'm gonna whip you into a champion, just as planned. We're gonna have the best summer we can, then I'll make sure that we can hang out when we're back in New York. And… then we'll see. Does that sound good?"

"It sounds perfect."


	5. Chapter 5

Following Percy's plan—which he soon admitted to Nico  _had_  indeed been made up on the fly so they could talk—most of their Sunday was spent not doing much at all. They hung around, mostly, and the only semi-productive moment of the day was when Percy decided to take him back to the location of the various competition they had been through during the past week, and give Nico some advice on how to be better at them.

There was the climbing wall, of course, and the lake, where they had raced in canoes, as well; he also showed him around the woods some more, where the camp organized a capture-the-flag game. Percy couldn't really teach him much about volleyball on his own; as for the horse races, Nico had had plenty of experience back in Italy, and Percy had nothing to teach him period.

Percy left him after lunch to spend the afternoon with Grover, who was still upset at having been abandoned in the morning. That left Nico at the mercy of Jason, Piper, and Reyna.

"So what exactly happened between you and Percy then?" Jason asked. "It sounded pretty tense last night." Nico stared at him blankly, tempted to tell him that this was none of his business, but he didn't seem deterred by that. "But now you two look okay. What gives?"

"Jason, don't push him," Reyna said, next to Nico. Piper, across from her, remained silent, her attention seemingly focused on her meal.

"Did you tell him you liked him? Did you take my advice?"

"I  _knew_  it!" Piper erupted before Nico could answer—or abstain from answering. "Jason Grace, you  _idiot_! You actually told this boy to confess?"

"Um—"

"Yeah, he did. And yes, I did tell Percy."

"Really?" Piper turned her attention on him, and her expression grew more thoughtful.

"But that… didn't go over too well," Nico said.

"Obviously. We all saw you leaving the party. But what I want to know is  _how_.  _In what way_  did it go wrong? How can you still be okay now? Did you back out?"

"No! No, he…" Nico sighed. "Promise that you won't make fun of me, okay?"

Jason nodded excitedly, but Piper cast a glance to Reyna. "Of course we won't," the latter said. "And we won't tell anyone else, either." That last part seemed more addressed to the other two than it was to Nico himself.

"Well, he said he liked me back, but that I'm too young, and he feels it would feel wrong if we—I don't know."

Jason sighed, resting his forehead on one of his head. "Oh, really."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Reyna said.

"Well, Percy's not  _entirely_  wrong," Piper interjected. "It probably wouldn't be  _too_  healthy. I'm surprised he thought of that."

"Not helping." Reyna and Jason had spoken almost at the same time.

"Sorry. I'm not sure there's much for me  _to_  do, though."

"I don't want you to do anything," Nico said. "It's fine. We talked through it, and—"

"And you're going to  _wait_  for each other? Because that wouldn't be much better."

"No! We're just being friends for now. And… then we'll see." He had repeated Percy's words, and they still felt as hopeful as before.

Piper eyed him curiously. "Hmm. It's probably the best you could have done, given the circumstances."

"It's a damn shame," Jason said. "You're perfect together."

Piper sighed. "And he wonders why we dumped him for a while."

* * *

Nico took some time to himself during Sunday afternoon, going back into the woods with his console for a few hours. Percy found him there by chance, late in the afternoon, as he had come to practice fencing moves on his own. They didn't talk much, but the simple fact of being accepted in Percy's bubble of intimacy was enough. Being near each other was enough. For now at least.

The second week rolled along, similar to the first, and yet infinitely better. Percy and Nico came back to that clearing in the woods every day, even if they usually only had half an hour of free time at most. The constant competition became easier with Percy's advice, and some help from Jason and Reyna as well.

Even the everyday shower somehow became more bearable. It was still infinitely awkward, but for a different reason: every time he would stare at Percy too long, Jason would inevitably tease him about it. Often as they were still under the shower; and while Jason didn't quite have the same effect on Nico as Percy, he was still a sight to behold. Something he was sure Jason knew very well.

All in all, everything was going well. By the time the second weekend came, and the second 'champions' party', Nico and Percy had risen enough in the ladder to not be forced to take care of setting everything up, giving them the opportunity to lay in bed a little more on Saturday morning, even after the dorm had been emptied.

Percy dropped on the floor next to Nico, a grin covering his face. "Do you mind if I come lie next to you?"

"Um—" Nico was unsure of what to say, taken aback by the question. "Sure, I guess." Friends  _did_  that. Right?

Percy almost threw himself on the bed, forcing Nico to scoot to the left to make him some space. The other boy settled on top of the blanket, and just stared silently at the bunk above them.

Eventually, he closed his eyes, and Nico thought he'd fallen back asleep, until he suddenly spoke. "Man, the only thing I hate about this place are Saturday morning. Can't watch cartoons. What a waste."

Nico snickered. "Aren't you a little too old for cartoons?"

He only realized what he'd just brought up when Percy turned to stare at him. His cocky grin vanished for the first time since their reconciliation in the woods, and there was a longing in his eyes. But it was soon gone, and a weak smile reappeared on his face. "You're  _never_  too old for cartoons. I'll have to invite you over, when we're back home. You haven't truly lived until you've had my mom's blue pancakes while watching Saturday morning cartoons."

"All right. That's a plan, then."

Percy's smile brightened again. "Perfect."

They were too close, the moment was too intimate, Percy's green eyes too bright, his smile too perfect; Nico couldn't resist it. He leaned forward, shutting down all thoughts and doubts. It wasn't about telling Percy this time; it was only about what Nico wanted. Awkwardness mixed with desire, and instead of just pressing his lips against Percy's, he  _kissed_  him, truly kissed him, not caring about whether or not it was the right way to do so, or whether or not there  _was_  a right way.

And surprisingly, Percy let him. He let Nico's charge roll him on his back, and one arm wrapped around Nico's waist, securing Nico's body on top of his. Percy parted his lips open, his tongue sneaked its way into Nico's mouth, and a low moan escaped him, vibrating against Nico's skin in a delectable manner. His free hand tangled itself in Nico's hair, then traveled down his spine, and back up again, raising goosebumps wherever it touched.

When the kiss finally ended, Nico felt like he had just gone underwater and broken the surface again. His breath was short, his head was light and dizzy, and he wasn't sure he would have been able to stand properly. But he didn't have to—Percy's arms were right there, anchoring him to the other boy's body. Nico was suddenly very aware of the fact that he only wore a shirt and his boxers, and that Percy wasn't any more clothed than him. But even that was secondary to the fact that he had broken the untold promise between them.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" he let out, rolling off of Percy and hiding his face in his hands.

Percy chuckled. "Are you?" Not caring about Nico's glare, he continued. "Look, it's okay. I didn't exactly stop you, either. It doesn't have to change anything. Let's just say it was a really nice teaser of things to come, okay?"

Nico groaned. "What if I can't wait until 'things to come' do come?"

"We'll see about that then." Percy sat up. "I need a shower now. Preferably a cold one."

That didn't really help with Nico's current embarrassment. And yet, he couldn't help but ask, "Was it really nice?"

Percy turned to smile at him. "The best. I'll see you at the party."

* * *

 _The best_. Those words carried him through the party. And it was probably for the best: without the feeling of near-bliss they gave Nico, he doubted he would have been able to look Percy in the eye at the moment.

The day unfolded very similar to the previous Saturday, but this time, Nico knew everyone already, so there was no awkward early moments—he headed straight for his group of friends. There was also no awkward confession to Percy, and no rushing outside.

All in all, the day was good, but it would would have been unremarkable if not for the way it had started. That is, until the party came to a close, and discussions turned to the next week, and the senior party.

"We're going in New York," Piper announced—she was one of the organizers. "I rented a room in a small club in Manhattan. I think there's enough of us who can drive to get everyone there, right?"

"There're twenty seniors this year," another girl—Annabeth? Nico thought her name was Annabeth—said, "and fifteen of us have a license. Even if we count that everyone takes a plus one from the younger residents, it should still be enough drivers, yes."

"But not enough cars," Percy pointed out. "I've got mine, and I know a few others do, but that's only seven or eight."

"It should be enough. We'll rent a few more if we need them," Piper retorted. "It'll be fine. But that's why I want to know who exactly is coming in a couple days at most." She paused dramatically. "Right, you're all dismissed then. Good night," she singsonged, grabbing Reyna by the arm on her way out.

Most of the others scattered as well, but Percy lingered behind with Jason, Thalia and Bianca. Curious, Nico walked up to them.

"—I figured you'd go with Reyna and Piper, right?" Percy said, talking to Jason, who nodded. "So, if you want, I can give Thalia a lift. If you're okay with that, Thalia."

The dark-haired girl chuckled. "Of course, thanks. But— I was going to ask Bianca to come with us, can she come too?"

"Um, sure, I guess. Right now it's just me and Grover. And maybe—" Percy finally noticed Nico standing there. "Oh, Nico, great timing. I wondered if you'd be coming with us to the senior party. I'm sure we can fit the five of us in my car."

Out the corner of his eye, Nico noticed Bianca's uncertain glance, but he merely chuckled. "No, I'll sit this one out. I'm not sure I like the idea of going in a club in New York, anyway."

"Really? Well, if you don't want to, I guess— But are you sure? It's gonna be the best party of the summer!"

"I'm not exactly a party guy, am I?"

There was a hint of disappointment in Percy's eyes, but he shrugged. "All right. Well, then yeah, I can definitely take Bianca with us too," he said, turning back to Thalia.

"Thanks, man," Jason said. "I owe you."

"Nah, we're just even."

* * *

Nico ended up going back to the bungalow with Percy. Jason had walked with them part of the way, then given an excuse to go back. Nico had noticed that he was just following them from behind, but he didn't really care.

"Are you really sure you don't want to come to the senior party?"

"Yes! Do I really look like the type of guy who'll go to a club in New York and—whatever it is you'll do there."

"Probably a lot of things we're too young to do," Percy said, chuckling. "But it's fine. Nothing bad ever really happens, and Piper's a kick-ass organizer."

"If you say so. I'm just not really interested. I'll have the evening to myself, it's not a big deal."

"Right. Well, just checking."

They were silent for a while, and eventually, Nico's thoughts drifted back to the kiss earlier, until he was unable not to bring it up. "So, about this morning…"

Percy stumbled out of surprise, and almost ended up face-planting into the ground. "Yeah?"

"I just… could we do that again sometime?"

Percy chuckled. "Um—I wish I could say no, but I'll go with 'maybe'."

"That's no answer!"

"It's the best I can give you. I won't… initiate anything, but if you take me by surprise again… I can't really say I could always resist."

Nico sighed. "You dork. Shouldn't the older guy be the one who pushes forward?"

"Maybe? But that's creepy, so I don't do that. I'll let you go at your own rhythm. Besides," he smirked, "it's much more fun this way."

Nico wasn't sure he disagreed with that statement. It  _was_  a lot of fun this way, strangely enough.


	6. Chapter 6

The second Sunday was, again, spent mostly relaxing. For Nico, at least; most of the seniors were in a frenzy to make plans for the party next week, as it seemed most of the took Piper's threats very seriously. Percy joined him during the early part of the afternoon, in their clearing in the woods, and while Nico had been tempted to 'take him by surprise', as he'd put it, he abstained from it. It was too early—Nico wanted to see how long he could last first.

Eventually, Percy pulled him out of there for a friendly game of volleyball with the usual group. By the end of it, over an hour later, Nico was too tired to think about kissing Percy. He even managed to not to be distracted by Percy while taking a shower.

The next week went by, and this time around, Percy and Nico reached third place of the global ranking, beaten only by the (still undefeated) Clarisse and Silena, as well as Thalia and Bianca. That was probably the best Nico would get; and in the rare moments where he actually cared about the competition, he was glad that Bianca was doing good as well.

Nico finally cracked on Wednesday, at night. He was still having trouble sleeping in the dorm, even after two weeks, and after tossing and turning for over two hours, he figured he could do something else. So he climbed on the top bunk—which, considering his short stature, required him to stand on his own bunk.

He was as silent as possible, but he doubted anyone in the dorm was awake. But the shift of the mattress under Nico's weight woke Percy up before Nico could figure out another way. And before Percy could react, Nico dove on him quickly, hungrily. Percy let out a hushed cry of surprise, muffled mostly by Nico's mouth against his, but he soon responded with a matching enthusiasm.

Percy looked like he was running on autopilot, which could be explained by the fact that he was still half-asleep. He was less gentle than Nico was used to, more commanding; but when he shifted his position to pin Nico against the mattress, Nico wouldn't have complained for anything at all.

With his hands suddenly free, Nico started exploring the shape of Percy's body, running them all over his chest, his back, his neck, the back of his head. But Percy, unlike Nico, knew what he was doing now that he was on top, and his body soon undulated with precise movements, fitting into the curve of Nico's body as if it were made for it.

In a flash of awareness, Nico realized that, once again, they were both in their underwear and t-shirts, but it was soon extinguished as Percy's crotch rubbed against his, replaced by mind-numbing arousal. One of his hands clasped on Percy's ass on its own accord, and Nico let out a moan that, thankfully, was mostly lost in Percy's mouth.

The other boy's movements were expert, and information only reached Nico's brain in glitchy sparks—the feeling of Percy's erection against his through the layers of cloths, how Percy slid a hand under his shirt, the way he kissed him as if his life depended on it. It was more than Nico had ever experienced; way too much, in fact.

The orgasm barely registered at all in the storm of sensory overload, but it was there, clearing up Nico's mind in its aftermath. Percy noticed as well, and finally let go of Nico's mouth.

"Well I should have seen that coming," he whispered against his ear, chuckling softly. But there was no mockery in his voice, or in his eyes—if anything, it was a look of triumph. "Don't worry, I'll finish off on my own."

"I—"

"Go to sleep, Nico." He rolled off of him, leaving him free to go. "I'm serious."

Part of Nico wanted to stay, and maybe even—a sick suggestion from the depths of his subconscious—help him 'finish off', but there was an uncertain expression in Percy's eyes. Almost… shy. So he didn't argue, and regained his own bunk. A small part of him was aware of the oh-so-familiar noises coming from above, but his mind still felt blank, and he fell asleep quickly.

* * *

The next morning was a little awkward for Nico, who wasn't sure what to do, but Percy's warm familiarity soon wiped it all away. Still, the next time Nico kissed him, on Friday, it was just a chaste kiss under the cover of their clearing. Not just because he wasn't sure he was ready to repeat the night's experience, but also because he could have sworn he caught Jason winking at him a good dozen times.

Finally, Saturday came, and with the promise of the senior party, a nervous sense of excitement washed over the Camp Half-Blood, a thrill that seemed to make the air itself vibrate.

Percy, specifically, was just impossible. After spending most of the morning being jittery to the point of annoying even Grover, he had decided to retreat back into the woods for one of his fencing practice. Nico had followed, but he was soon tired as well, as Percy couldn't focus, couldn't stop talking about the evening that was coming, and spent most of his time striking at anything at range, causing a ruckus.

"Will you just shut up and find something to do? You're acting like a hyperactive kid off his meds."

Percy grinned at him. "Maybe you should find a way to shut me up."

Nico groaned. "Not gonna fall for that one. If you want me to kiss you, you wait until I do or you let go of your stupid principles." Percy just laughed and started swinging his practice sword all over the place again. "You know what? I'll go somewhere else. Have fun at your party, I'll see you in the morning."

"Aw, Nico, don't go!" Percy called out.

Nico sighed, but he did pause. "What?"

"I just— I got a call from my mom earlier today. I got accepted into college." His proud grin was adorable.

"I didn't even know you were going to college," Nico let out. "Okay, so what?"

"So, I'll be staying on my own next year. I found a small apartment. To be honest, I wouldn't have minded staying with my mom and my stepdad for a few more years, but I thought it would be better this way. So I don't bother her, y'know?"

"Is this going anywhere?"

"Right. Yes, it is. Can you hand me your phone? So I can write down the address and be sure you won't lose it."

Nico chuckled as he complied. "Don't you think I would try to remember?"

"You're never too careful. Here you go. And I'm sorry if I'm being a little overexcited."

"Yeah, right. You're not sorry at all," Nico said, smiling. "As I said, I'll see you in the morning."

* * *

Nico found Jason hanging at the terrace, apparently alone. "Trouble in paradise?" he called out when he saw Nico.

"You're funny. You've seen Percy this morning. He only got worse."

"I'm sure you could have figured out a way to tire him out," Jason said, raising an eyebrow. Under Nico's glare, he laughed. "Okay, I overstepped the line. Are you gonna down, or…?"

"I don't know. Do you think any of the camp leaders will come here?" he asked, holding out his console. He had managed not to get caught with it so far; it would be a shame if he did now.

"I'll warn you if they do. Come on. We never get to talk."

"Because you always try to suggest things I should do with Percy." But Nico complied anyway, and turned the game back on.

"I've come to realize you didn't need my suggestions." Faced with silence, Jason elaborated, "Come on. Climbing on his bunk, that wasn't very subtle of you."

"Do you live to spy on us?"

"Only when I have nothing better to do." Jason chuckled. "I should tone it down, shouldn't I?"

"That would be nice."

"I'll do my best." There was a moment of silence. "Is that what you're going to do tonight? Don't you grow bored of it?"

"Says the guy who was sitting at the terrace doing nothing."

Jason chuckled again. "Fair point. What're you going to do next year, though?"

Nico raised his eyes from the game. "Next year?"

"We'll be gone. Okay, some of us might stay and become leaders for a few years, but we won't be able to hang around as much. So what'll you do then?"

Nico lowered his eyes again. "I didn't plan that far ahead. I didn't even want to come here in the first place. Maybe I won't come back."

"Really? That'd be sad. I'm sure you could make other friends."

"Obviously you overestimate my ability to make friends. If it weren't for Percy, I would have spent the month alone."

Jason's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and a grin half-formed on his face, but he remained silent. "If you say so. But didn't you enjoy yourself?"

Nico paused before answering. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"Then maybe you  _should_  come back!"

Nico chuckled. "Why do you care?"

"Just—give it a thought, okay?"

"Will you leave me alone if I say yes?" Nico chuckled as he said the words. "Yeah, I guess I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask. Well, I should find my dear girlfriends and tell them alone time is over. See you after the party, Nico."

"Right. See you then."

* * *

The camp was very quiet that night. About a third of the residents had gone, barely fitting in the available cars, and the others had scattered all across the vast grounds.

Nico himself had gone back to the pavilion. With no one in there, the place almost felt too large, but he was technically the only one allowed in there who hadn't gone to the senior party, and that pretty much guaranteed he'd be left alone.

After nearly three weeks of almost nonstop agitation, this was a nice change of pace. Even when he found refuge in the woods, Nico had almost always been with Percy, at least. He'd almost forgotten how much he  _liked_  being alone. He'd always had plenty of space to himself at home, back in Italy, and even in New York, for the few months he'd lived there. It wasn't even about being alone so he could do whatever he wanted; the stillness was relaxing in and of itself.

That atmosphere, combined with the constant activity of the past few weeks, led Nico to bed early that night. The dorm was still empty—most of the residents were still out—and Nico fell asleep almost immediately.

* * *

"Nico? Come on, Nico, get up."

A voice woke him up, and he barely felt like he'd slept at all. The dorm was still plunged in darkness, and when Nico looked around, a lot of the beds were still empty. It couldn't be very late at night.

He focused on the one who had woken him: Jason. His voice had been full of alarm, and his face was overtaken by sheer panic.

"What's going on?" Nico muttered, half asleep.

"You— you should come with me."

Nico frowned. "Do I have time to put on some pants first, or—?"

Jason blinked a few times, visibly confused. "Yeah. Sure."

They left the dorm, and headed straight for the terrace. Only one light was lit there; Piper was sitting at one of the tables, but she was alone.

"Any news?" Jason called out.

"No. Reyna still hasn't come back, either."

"All right, I'll—"

"What's going on?" Nico asked. He checked his watch—one in the morning. They shouldn't be here so early; especially not Piper, who had organized the party. It didn't make sense to see them here.

"Things went… out of control at the senior party," Piper said. "Someone called the cops on us. Nobody got caught, but we were forced to leave earlier than planned. So we figured we'd just end the night here, and drove back to Camp Half-Blood. But—" Her voice was broken by a sob, and Nico suddenly realized she was crying—in the dim light, he hadn't noticed before. "Nico, I'm so sorry!"

"Wh—what happened?" He wished his voice hadn't been so high-pitched, that it had been stronger, but he couldn't help it. Piper's tears and Jason's panicked attitude were both contagious.

"There was—look, we weren't planning on going home for a few hours, so we figured the drivers could be allowed to drink a  _little_  in the early evening if they wanted to. But with the cops busting us out…"

Jason finished her sentence for her. "Percy had an accident on the way back."

"Percy? Is he—"

"He's fine. He got lucky. But the others in his car…"

Understanding dawned on Nico, like a light that was suddenly turned on while he was asleep. Blinding, painful, and all he wanted to do was ignore it. "Bianca."

Jason nodded slowly. "Annabeth stayed behind with a few others to help, and we came back as soon as we could to get the camp leaders… and you."

"How is she?"

"I don't know, we left too quickly, but—"

" _How is she_?" Nico had yelled, startling both Jason and Piper.

"We don't know," Piper said. "But it didn't look good."

"Oh my God." Nico lost his balance, nearly collapsing to the ground, but Jason caught him, and helped him sit. "Oh my—"

"Nico." Jason was trying his best to keep his voice calm, but it only worked in comparison to the maelstrom inside of Nico. "It's okay. We'll just wait until someone calls, or comes back, so we can find out more. But—maybe we should warn your parents already?"

"My mom," Nico replied automatically. His dad had been out of the picture for… well, forever. "I—can you do it for me?" he asked, handing out his cellphone to Jason.

"I'll take care of it," Piper said. "It's my party. My responsibilities." She had managed to stop crying, but she didn't look exactly good either. She grabbed Nico's phone and walked away, out of the circle of light on the terrace.

"Are you—okay?" Jason asked. "Is there anything I can do?"

"I don't know. Tell Hazel, maybe?" She was Bianca's cousin as much as his, and the two had been close, from what Nico could tell.

"Already taken care of," Reyna's voice said as she joined them. She sat down next to Nico, and silently wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "She's with a friend of hers. I think I killed the mood, but she decided to stay with him."

"Did you find anyone?" Jason asked

"Yeah. All the leaders are probably up by now. And none of them know what to do. Except for Fred—he called the managers."

"How thoughtful of him."

"I don't care about them," Nico said. "I want to know how she is." Not knowing was the worst—he had been told about the accident for five minutes at most, and he already felt a mixture of curiosity and dread digging its way inside of Nico's stomach.

"Do you think we should go back there with you?" Jason asked.

"No," Reyna said before Nico could decide on an answer. "You're in no state to drive, Jason. Let's not tempt fate. Annabeth has her phone; she'll—"

Jason's phone rang as she spoke. "It's her," he said solemnly, taking the call. He barely spoke at all, only listening to the other end with a blank expression. He didn't even need to speak; Nico already knew before he hung up. "Nico— I'm so sorry."

Nico crumbled in tears, falling into Jason's arms. Reyna slid closer, as if she and Jason could form a barrier around Nico, but it was pointless. Nothing could comfort him.

* * *

Nico couldn't sleep that night, and no one tried to make him. He remained with Jason, Piper and Reyna at the terrace all night long, unable to talk, to stand, to even  _think_.

The first lights of dawn were tingeing the sky in deep blue, purple, and pink, when someone finally came. Percy and Grover.

"What are you doing here?" Reyna asked. She wasn't exactly hostile, but this was no more a pleasant surprise to her than it was to Nico.

"Annabeth said we should go," Grover said. "She and Thalia went with the paramedics."

As soon as he saw them, Jason sprung from his seat and erupted. "You. It's your fault!" His anger was directed straight at Grover, strangely enough. "Just like two years ago; you couldn't help yourself, could you? What did you give him  _this_  time?"

"Jason, stop." Percy's voice was as empty as Nico felt, but it had no right to be. Percy had no right to feel anything like Nico right now. "Leave Grover alone. If you want to blame someone, blame me."

"I'll blame whoever I want!"

"No," Nico said. " _I_  will." He left the table and walked up to Jason. As soon as he stopped next to him, Jason's hand was on his shoulder, keeping him stable—he was grateful for that. "And I do blame you," he said, looking straight at Percy, making him flinch. He wasn't sure what Jason had been accusing Grover of exactly—although he could guess—but it didn't matter. Grover hadn't been behind the wheel of the car; he hadn't decided that running away from the police while drunk was more important than the lives of the people in his car. Percy had done all of that.

His green eyes were filled with sorrow, and guilt, and pain, but he was not surprised. "I'm sorry, Nico. I'm so sorry—"

"Well, that makes it  _all better_  then! Doesn't it?"

"You're angry at me, and you should. I fucked up. I fucked up so bad."

Nico considered him silently. There was anger inside, waiting to be unleashed, but Nico couldn't find the words. It was  _beyond_  words. "Shut up. Just shut up. I don't— I can't—" He couldn't even cry; there were no tears left inside. "I'm leaving this place." He started towards the bungalows, past the two boys, and Jason followed him.

"Nico, wait—"

Nico paused and turned halfway back. "Don't talk to me. Ever. Again."

"But I—"

"Shut up! You killed my sister! There's nothing you can say!" He paused, forcing himself to breathe; it was like he was about to explode. "I  _hate_  you." He ran away, unable to take one more moment spent anywhere near Percy Jackson.

Less than an hour later, his mother's car took him away from Camp Half-Blood forever.


	7. Chapter 7

Things never came back to normal in the di Angelo household. It was just Nico and his mother now, and neither could truly move on from Bianca's loss.

After two months where she would randomly stay at home some days, or come home in the middle of the day, Maria di Angelo quit her job altogether—although Nico gathered that she had been forced to. When Nico warned her stepsister Marie, she forced her to see a doctor, and Maria had been on antidepressants ever since. But four months later, she was still hardly on the way to recovery.

Nico had started high school, and had faded back into his routine of loneliness. Fitting in was never easy, but he hadn't even tried this time. Half of the school year was gone now, and he still barely talked to anyone at school; but at least no one knew. It was easier to handle his sister's death if no one ever brought her up.

And while he couldn't blame his mother for it, her emotional collapse meant that Nico got no support from her. And by way of consequence, from  _anyone_. Marie and Hazel Levesque were in New Orleans, Jason in California. Nico just didn't know how to handle it.

Jason was the only one form Camp Half Blood Nico was still in contact with. He, Piper and Reyna lived in California, all the way across the continent; a few Skype conversations weren't exactly the same thing as a friendship. And every time they did talk, Nico felt like the ghost of Bianca was here, even though Jason never mentioned her directly.

When winter came in New York, the best Nico had managed was an empty, numb feeling which followed him wherever he went. It was the first time he had a snowy winter in many years, since those were rare in Italy, but he couldn't enjoy it, because all he thought about was how Bianca had always been the one to pull him outside to play. The holiday cheer never reached their apartment, or Nico's mind.

The turn of the new year changed everything. For some reason Nico had never completely understood, it had always been Bianca's favorite holiday, and she'd always made a big deal of the New Year's Eve celebration. She was always ready months in advance, getting a present for Nico. Not a toy, like she would give him on Christmas when he was younger, or anything functional; it was always a symbolic gesture more than anything. Something she wanted Nico to keep in mind for the year to come.

As it turned out, Bianca had gotten one for Nico before she passed away. It came in the mail, sent from Long Island early in July—from Camp Half-Blood. A small envelope, and inside, a picture. Nico didn't recognize it: it was just a couple of boys, photographed from behind as they held hands and walked down a nameless street. On the back, Nico found a single, short sentence, written in Italian in Bianca's ornate handwriting. " _We'll get you a boyfriend; you'll see._ "

Tears ran uncontrollably down Nico's cheeks when the meaning of the picture hit him. He had never even come out to Bianca, but of course she knew. And yet, even while he was crying, a smile formed on his face. It was her last words to him, and it held an underlying message of acceptance. A wish for happiness. Maybe he needed that. Maybe he owed Bianca to live.

His life didn't change overnight; it was more subtle than that. He started talking again, even to unknown students at school. He didn't really make friends with them, but it was a start. He could laugh again, enjoy himself again—while playing his games, at school, and once, by going outside to play in the snow. He wasn't an expert at building snowmen like Bianca had been, but he was sure she would have been proud of him for the effort. A few other kids started a snowball fight, and invited Nico to join. And for once, he accepted.

The only dark spot was Maria. He tried to talk to his mother, to help her too, like Bianca had unwittingly helped him, but he couldn't seem to reach out to her. She was hermetic to anything he had to say, and it was painful, and infuriating, too.

It culminated at the end of the month. Nico came home from school to find his mother still in bed—something that happened less often recently, but on a regular basis nonetheless.

He creaked her bedroom door open. "Mom? I'm home." No answer. "I thought—maybe we could go out for dinner tonight?" A vain hope, he knew, but he wasn't sure what else to do. Getting his mother outside felt like the best course of action.

"Let me sleep," her voice came weak and hushed.

"But mom— It's my birthday."

Maria's groan was all the answer Nico needed. A mixture of disappointment and guilt settled in within his gut, but before he closed the door, she chuckled. "And you think I care?"

"I—what?"

"Oh, it's  _Nico's_  birthday! How  _important_ , let me get all prettied up!" Another fit of cackling laughter. "Let's celebrate that my little fag of a son gets to live on and his sister can't!"

The slur hurt—of course it did—but Nico had expected it. Maria had been the first to know, the first to reject him for it. What hurt the most, though, was the mention of Bianca. "Mom, I—"

" _'Mom, I'_  what? 'I'm sorry I took my sister's life'?"

"I wasn't even there!"

"So you say. And yet they called me from you cellphone,  _didn't they_?"

"That was a few who'd gone back at the camp—"

"Right, excuses. Always excuses. No, we're not celebrating your birthday. Because it's not worth celebrating. Not get out of my room and let me sleep."

Through a haze of shock and pain, Nico didn't know what to do anymore. So he just did what she told him to. When he reached the living room, he noticed his cheeks were wet with tears he hadn't realized he was shedding, and that his breathing was short—but with anger.

This was not fair. Nico had gone through months on his own because he had respected his mother's grief, but he couldn't take being called responsible of his sister's death. He couldn't, because, the moment he let his mother say that, he might very well start believing it himself. He was barely on the way up thanks to Bianca's message; he wouldn't let his mom get him back down.

Before he even knew what he was doing, he was out on the street, with the backpack he carried to school on his shoulders. The cold winter air helped soothe his anger, but he didn't want to go back inside. He couldn't—not yet. He wasn't able to forgive Maria's words just yet, no matter if they had been influenced by her state of mind.

He walked aimlessly for a few minutes, before the cold broke through his dark thoughts. Planning not to go back home was not exactly going to work if he had nowhere else to go. And Nico didn't really know anyone in New York. He had started making a few acquaintances at school, but he didn't know any of their addresses—and they were hardly close enough that Nico could ask them to shelter him.

There was one other person. Someone Nico didn't want to deal with at all; especially not now. But it was still preferable to going back to his mother.

Percy's address was still in Nico's phone; Nico had never bothered to delete his contact information. It was nowhere near Nico's, but the subway had a direct line heading there.

The address was that of a small apartment building; not particularly fancy, but it didn't look too bad either. The entrance hall wasn't locked; Nico made his way up to the third floor, and rang the doorbell, suddenly realizing that Percy might very well not be home. Or might tell him to leave. Or…

A list of disasters formed in Nico's mind, but it was all blown away when the door finally opened.

Percy hadn't changed much in the past six months, but Nico immediately noticed the differences. Gone were the flashy t-shirt of Camp Half-Blood and the light shorts; he was wearing black sweatpants and a tight, blue hoodie. His hair was longer and even more unruly than before, and his cheeks and neck were covered in dark stubble. For a brief moment, his green eyes carried a bleak expression, so similar to the one he'd worn the last time Nico had seen him; but it was gone as soon as he recognized him, and his eyes widened.

"Nico?" That was all Percy said—he stood there, gaping at Nico.

"Hi." Nico suddenly realized he could at least have thought of something to say. "Can I— can I come in?"

He had expected a refusal, but Percy nodded immediately. "Yeah. Of course." He stepped aside, and suddenly Nico felt a pang of hesitation; yet, he couldn't turn back now. So he walked inside, followed by Percy.

Nico wasn't sure what he'd expected, but the place looked… kind of nice, really. It was small, but much tidier than Nico had expected, although there were a few things lying around where they shouldn't be. The furniture looked fairly recent—probably bought when Percy had moved in—and Percy's sense of decoration seemed to revolve only around the color blue, but aside from that, it looked okay.

"So—do you wanna sit down, or…?" Nico started at the sound of Percy's voice. For a moment, he'd nearly forgotten what he was doing here. "Maybe you want a drink? I pretty much only have water or hot chocolate in here, but—"

"Hot chocolate's fine."

"Okay. Just—make yourself at home, okay? I'll be right back." Percy sounded much more nervous than Nico had expected; much more nervous than he felt himself, oddly enough.

Percy came back a couple minutes later with two fuming mugs, and sat down on the couch across from Nico, setting the mugs on the coffee table between them. "So… what's going on?" His voice was serious—too serious. It didn't suit him.

Nico didn't even know where to start. He wasn't sure he wanted to tell Percy about his mother; he wasn't sure he wanted to talk about her at all. He clasped his hands around his mug, enjoying the burn against his cold skin. "I need a place to stay for a while. I didn't know where else to go." Noticing Percy's stunned expression, he added quickly, "You don't have to take me in; just tell me where I could go. That's all I ask."

"No, I— you— you can totally stay here. If you want. Nico, what is it?" His eyes began to scan him; for what exactly, Nico wasn't sure, but he could guess. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Should I—"

"I'm fine." Percy's rambling wasn't helping. The sound of his voice was a reminder of three perfect weeks of summer, which ended in tragedy. "I— I ran away from home. But aside from that, I'm fine."

"Okay. Well, as I said, you can stay here if you want to. I don't mind, I can sleep on the couch. I already have." He chuckled. "The bed's barely used, actually."

The comment was said in a light tone, almost as a joke, but it rang false. This time, Nico was the one scanning Percy. He couldn't claim he knew him well, but there was something off about him. The stubble, the look in his eye… and his hoodie didn't hide the fact that Percy had lost weight underneath. "Are  _you_  all right?" he found himself asking.

Percy stared at him in surprise. "Me? Oh, yeah, it's just— college is stressful, and all that…" More obvious lies, and Nico's gaze was unflinching. Under it, Percy backed down against his couch. "Look, I— I know you're the last person I should tell this, but I can't— I don't—" He sighed. "Ever since the accident, I— it's like I've lost control of my life as a whole."

"You're right. You shouldn't tell me this." But there was no anger inside of Nico, nor in his voice. He could read Percy's expression, find an emptiness that reflected the one he'd felt for all these months. "But… I understand."

"No. I don't think you do, Nico, and I never got to explain myself."

He paused, and Nico realized he was expecting his approval to continue. So he just nodded. He wasn't sure he was ready to take whatever was coming. But he had come for Percy's help, and Percy had offered more than he expected; the least he could do was listen.

"Okay. The thing is, it happened before. You probably gathered most of this already, but two years ago, me and Grover were invited to the senior party at the time. And Grover… well, he put something in my drink. Please, don't— don't say anything about him. What matters is, he did, and I took the wheel. That time there was no one in the car, and my mom managed to get the insurance to pay it back somehow, so I got away fine."

"And it happened again this time."

Percy nodded. "Yeah. But this time, I noticed. I should have sit it out, but I thought it would be fine. I thought it would be more important to escape on time, with the police coming, and— well, you know the rest."

Nico remained silent for a while. "So your point is: I shouldn't blame Grover because you knew."

"Yeah. Grover… has his own issues to work through."

"And you've been the victim of those issues. Don't you think twice is enough?"

"Well, we— we haven't really been in touch since then. For what it's worth."

"It doesn't really matter, actually."

"No, I guess not." Percy sighed. "Look, all I mean to say is: this is  _my_  fault. I fucked up. And I'm sorry, even though I know it's not going to make a difference to you."

Nico paused. "But what does it have to do with how you are now? You look terrible, Percy."

"I just— It's not easy every day. I can barely sleep unless I collapse from exhaustion watching TV. I managed to go to most of my classes so far, but that's about all I've done. If my mom wasn't helping with my rent, I'd probably be out of here already." He smirked bitterly. "Look, I'm not trying to make it look like I'm the one who has it the worst, but—"

"I know. It's okay."

Percy smiled weakly, and checked a clock on a wall, behind Nico. "So, how about dinner? It's on me, but I'll let you choose."

Nico chuckled. "It's going to sound lame, but do you know anywhere we can order Italian?"

* * *

Half an hour later, they gathered at the table around takeout boxes—Nico had picked a whole assortment of several dishes they could share— and two cans of soda. They didn't speak much while eating, but it wasn't an awkward silence like there had been when Percy had first let Nico inside anymore. It wasn't quite comfortable either; it was somewhere in between. It felt like they were the two sole survivors of a tragedy, the only ones who understood each other and could live on. Which, in way, was accurate.

After they were done eating, Percy disappeared to the bedroom for a minute, before coming back, hiding something in his hand. He sat back down at the table, and laid it in front of Nico. "I know it isn't much, but… happy birthday." It was a small, painted Mythomagic figurine—one of the Amazons.

Nico chuckled. "You knew it was my birthday?"

"Yeah, I— it's in my phone. To be honest, waking up to that alert was kind of a shock. And then you showed up, so— anyway, I wish I could have gotten something better, but that's all I had at this hour."

"Where did you even get that?"

Percy shrugged. "I don't even know. Reyna probably left it in my stuff at home, and it ended up coming here with me when I moved."

Something about his blunt honesty reminded Nico of how endearing Percy could be. "Thank you."

"So… do you still play? Because this is a really stupid present otherwise."

"Yeah, sort of. I stopped for a while, but I started over recently."

"Okay. Good. So, um— now what?"

"I don't know. I didn't exactly plan anything, in case you didn't notice."

"It's getting late. Don't you have school tomorrow?"

Nico groaned. "That was the last thing on my mind right now."

"Right. Well, you should probably go to bed. I mean, I'm not gonna force a bedtime on you, it's just—"

Nico chuckled. "No, you're right. Sleep sounds like a good idea right about now." He got up, taking the figurine on the table and stuffing it in his backpack.

"Okay. As I said, you can use the bedroom. It's right here," he said, standing by the only door—as if Nico couldn't guess. "And you can borrow some of my clothes if you want." He eyed Nico quickly. "You've grown taller, but I'm pretty sure they still won't fit you. But you can at least sleep in them."

Something about Percy commenting his height made Nico flustered, but he managed to hide it. "Right. Thanks." He hadn't thought about clothes when leaving. "And, well— goodnight."

"Yeah. Goodnight."

Nico closed the bedroom door, and looked through the drawers until he found a black t-shirt. He didn't need much more, so he just got undressed, and put it on. Immediately, the scent of Percy invaded him, salty and familiar. And in spite of everything, he couldn't help but find that comforting.

He shoved himself under the heavy blankets of Percy's bed, trying to fall asleep, but it wasn't easy. Not with the memory of his mother's lashing out. Not with Bianca's ghost, most present than ever; he hadn't talked this much about her since her death.

There was a bluish light filtering under the door, and the soft sound of a television at a low volume. Nico felt a small pang of guilt at the thought of forcing Percy out of his bedroom, and another at the thought that Percy would have probably still stayed up even without Nico. He couldn't help but feel sorry for him, even though, by all accounts, he  _shouldn't_.

Worst of all, that light, those sounds—those indications that Percy was right outside the door—had a similarly comforting effort to the scent that was now all around him, on the shirt, the pillow, in the bedding itself. But it was also exactly what he needed, and Nico soon drifted off.


	8. Chapter 8

"Nico? Nico, wake up!"

Percy's voice barely reached Nico's conscience, moments before the blanket above him was pulled away, and the chill in the air painfully finished the job of waking him up.

"What the—" He made an attempt to grab the blanket and pull it back over him, if only to cover himself, but in vain.

"Oh, sorry."

"Whatever." Percy had already had plenty of opportunities to see him wearing a t-shirt and underwear. Although he also supposed that, as Percy had noted the night before, he had grown up since then; his body had changed, and he was suddenly very aware of how tight his briefs were compared to the boxers he used to wear. "What's going on?"

"Dude, it's almost seven thirty. I don't know where you go to school, but I'm pretty sure you should be up by now."

"What?" The familiar panic of being late to school flooded in Nico's mind, and he checked his phone. He probably hadn't heard the alarm, because it was turned on. "Oh, shit." He jumped out of bed, already calculating how long getting to school would take with the extra subway ride. "Okay, it's fine, I can skip breakfast. Can I just take a shower?"

"Um— yeah, of course. My mom forced me to buy everything double just in case, so I've got everything you need. Come on."

From the bedroom, another door led to the diminutive bathroom. Percy got out a towel, gave him a quick rundown of how the shower worked, then hurried out.

Ten minutes later, Nico was back in the bedroom, looking for his own clothes, haphazardly thrown around the night before. Once he was dressed, he headed back to the living room.

He couldn't see Percy—he was probably in the kitchen—so he just called out. "All right, thanks for everything, but I gotta go now."

"Hold on." Percy appeared, wearing sneakers and a jacket on top of the same clothes from the night before. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"Um— why?"

Percy shrugged. "Company. Besides I'd feel better not letting you out in the city by yourself."

As if Nico wasn't used to being out in the city by himself. But there was no time to argue. "Sure, whatever. Let's go, then."

They ran to the subway station, just in time to catch a train. Once they were on board, Percy started to look through his pockets.

"What, did you forget your keys?" Nico asked, not exactly willing to mock him but still amused at the thought.

"Nah, of course not. See?" He pulled out a set of keys from his back pocket. "I just wondered—are you coming back tonight?"

Nico paused. "I don't know. I didn't really think about it, but—"

"Because it looked like you might need it. And I'd like you to. I mean, if you want to stay with me for a while… I'd like you to."

"I— I don't really know."

"Well, when you do know…" Percy detached one of the keys from the ring, and handed it to Nico. "There you go. It's my duplicate."

"Um, I don't think that's such a good idea—"

"I don't need it. Look, there's no pressure: if you don't want to stay with me, I understand. But if you do… that way you don't have to worry about anything."

* * *

The thought of going back to Percy's apartment taunted Nico all day, teasing, infuriating and enticing all at once. That he was still attracted to him was hardly a surprise at all—there were things that circumstances could probably never erase—but it was only part of it. He didn't remember the last time he'd had such a simple, yet pleasant evening at home as he'd had the night before with Percy. The only thing he was sure of is that it had been before going to Camp Half-Blood.

When he came home from school, his mom was up, huddled in the living room of their apartment, reading a book.

"Well if it isn't the little abomination," she said, not even looking away from her book.

Nico froze at her words. So last night would not be a singular occurrence. "Hi mom."

" _'Hi mom'_. Is your voice really high-pitched or are you  _trying_  to sound like your sister?"

Nico wouldn't let her drag him into a repeat of the day before. He rushed to his bedroom, taking out the same bag he'd brought to Camp Half-Blood and stuffing it with clothes taken mostly at random. Percy's key was still secure in his pocket, along with his own; he slung the heavy bag over one shoulder, picked his school backpack on the other, and headed back out.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going to spend some time at a friend's place."

Maria paused. "Right. A  _friend_." She chuckled at the way Nico froze and blushed. "Well, what do I care? At least I won't have to suffer your presence. Have fun. Use protection. Wouldn't want you to catch something; then I'd have to deal with it."

Nico scoffed, but he was done listening to her. "Bye, mom."

* * *

Nico held back tears all the way to Percy's apartment, but when he entered it and stumbled upon the boy, he couldn't anymore. His bags dropped to the floor, and his tears ran free. Almost immediately, Percy was there, his arms encircling Nico and pulling him closer. Nico didn't resist, and rested his head against Percy's shoulder, half surprised to notice that was he was a little too tall for that now.

Percy didn't say anything, didn't ask, and Nico didn't offer an explanation; they just stood there for a minute until Nico had control over his own emotions once again.

"You're back," Percy said simply once Nico stepped away.

"You're sweaty."

Percy chuckled. "Yeah. I've gone back to fencing class. It'd been a while. I just got home, haven't had time to shower."

Nico eyed him up, suddenly realizing the change that had operated since they'd parted in the morning. Percy had shaved, his shirt was drenched with sweat; he wore jeans instead of sweatpants. Maybe it was just an impression, but he looked better already; even his expression was brighter. "Did you try to look good for me?" he asked, teasing.

"What if I did?" A wink followed the answer. "I really need that shower. Make yourself at home, we'll take care of unpacking later. We've got all weekend for that." Percy vanished through the bedroom door before Nico could answer.

The weekend. Another information that had completely slipped from Nico's mind, with all that was already going on. It was probably for the best: at least he'd have some time to adapt.

Nico poured himself a glass of water and collapsed on a couch. He was tempted to grab the console in his backpack, but he wasn't entirely sure it would be really polite, so he waited. Percy emerged a few minutes later, wearing the same jeans but a clean shirt, barefoot, and his hair still wet. He plopped down on the couch next to Nico, turning on the television—almost reflexively. He then muted it, and turned to look at Nico.

"I take it you plan to stay for a while?"

"Yeah. I mean, if your offer still stands."

"Of course it does. Do you wanna talk about it?"

Nico blinked. "About what?"

"About—" Percy shrugged. "Whatever it is that brought you here."

"Oh. No, not really."

"Okay. Whatever you prefer. But if you ever want to, you can, okay?" Noticing that Percy was actually expecting an answer, Nico nodded sharply. "All right. Do you mind if I…?" he nodded at the television. When Nico shook his head, he turned the sound back on.

He watched some kind of game show where the contestants had to go through an obstacle course; it took Nico all of two minutes to lose interest and turn his console on, settling more comfortably on the couch. As he did, he brushed up against Percy, but if the other boy minded, he didn't say it, and Nico leaned in slightly closer, pressing their shoulders together. It wasn't much, but the warmth was comforting.

* * *

Percy ordered pizza for dinner that night, and finally stopped watching one game show after the next to challenge Nico to one of his own games as they ate. Nico was not fond of shooter games, but he did his best, and Percy soon decided to have mercy on him and team up against other people online instead.

They were quickly swept away by the game, finding a sense of familiarity that Nico had thought was lost forever. It was the strangest thing: Nico wasn't sure that he'd forgiven Percy yet, but he couldn't deny that being with him, being friends with him, was…  _easy_. Natural, even. And that was before he even considered his rushing heartbeat every time they touched, the moments when his gaze got caught on Percy's frame for too long, or the pleasant ache in his stomach that was now nearly omnipresent.

They only stopped playing when Nico couldn't fight sleepiness off anymore. Percy insisted once again that Nico should have the bedroom to him, but Nico refused, this time.

"It's  _your_  place. It wouldn't be right that I take your bedroom from you."

Percy opened his mouth to argue, then changed his mind and shrugged. Moments later, he brought a blanket and some pillows out of his room. "Um…" he shifted uncomfortably, "I guess I'll give you some privacy if you want to change."

Nico chuckled. "No, it's fine. You've seen me naked before, remember?" He wasn't sure where the sudden confidence came from, but a grin formed on his lips when he noticed a blush creeping up Percy's neck and reaching his cheeks.

In spite of Nico's reassurance, Percy vanished into the bedroom at the first opportunity. Shrugging, Nico settled on the couch, and sleep soon caught him.

He was woken up not long afterwards, however, when Percy crept back outside of the bedroom. "Sorry," he whispered when he noticed Nico stirring. "Didn't mean to wake you up."

"'S all right. What is it?"

Percy collapsed on the other couch. "Nothing. The usual. Couldn't sleep."

"Do you need to watch TV again?" If it was his way of coping, it wouldn't be right of Nico to stop him from doing so.

"Um. I mean, yeah? If you don't mind."

Nico sighed. "Sure, go ahead."

He did, turning on the television at the lowest possible volume. Nico soon found himself drifting off again, not quite sleeping, but not conscious enough to register what Percy was watching either. Not until a louder sound came from the television—an explosion in whatever drama was playing.

Startled awake, Nico glanced at Percy, and found him sound asleep, awkwardly draped on the couch, one leg and arm dangling to the floor. In the bluish light of the television, Nico saw the peaceful look on Percy's face, one that he hadn't seen since first coming to the apartment the day before. He almost looked like a ghost of the boy Nico had first met last summer.

Just then, Percy stirred, hugging himself against the cold—he hadn't bothered to get dressed after leaving his bed, apparently—but not waking up. Chuckling to himself, Nico went into the bedroom and took the blanket from the bed there, settling it on Percy. A small smile formed on the other boy's lips as he shuffled under the blanket, and Nico unconsciously smiled in return.

He went back to the other couch, back to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Nico was woken up at sunrise; they hadn't thought to close the curtains last night, the sunlight flooded in right on his face. He glanced at the other couch, where Percy was still snoring softly, a small grin on his sleeping face. It would be a shame to let him be woken up as well; Nico hurried to the windows and drew the curtains, plunging the room in the dark.

There was a chill in the apartment's air, particularly unpleasant considering that Nico had just woken up and was not wearing any pants. He quickly returned to his couch, and lay back, drifting off to a state of semi-consciousness, waiting until his body decided whether he should wake up completely or fall back to sleep.

The latter won out, and Nico was woken up again by the smell of something cooking. Curious, he emerged from his blanket, but his momentum was broken by the cold. He found his abandoned bag still in the entrance hall, and put on a pair of sweatpants. It wasn't much, but it would do for now.

He then headed to the kitchen. There, he found Percy, who had apparently not bothered with clothes yet, and was busy at the stove in the same pair of dark blue briefs as the night before.

"Hey," Nico let out flatly, his mind distracted by the sight in front of him, his mouth suddenly dry, and his eyes wandering over Percy's frame.

At the sound of Nico's voice, he turned around. "Good morning," he singsonged with utter glee. "I hope you're hungry."

"What're you making?" Nico walked forward to look over Percy's shoulder at the pans in front of him. The fact that it conveniently put him right behind Percy, his shirt inches away from bare skin, was a complete coincidence. Or at least, so he would have claimed if he was ever asked.

"Pancakes. I promised you, remember? A Saturday morning with my mom's pancakes and cartoons." That promise might as well have been made in another life, but Nico remembered. "Well, of course, I don't live at her place anymore, so you'll only get her recipe. But I have years of practice, don't worry."

"Why is it… blue?" Nico was not an expert on pancakes, but he doubted that was normal.

"Oh, it's just food dye. It's part of the recipe."

"Right," Nico said, dubious, as he leaned against the fridge to his right.

Percy shrugged. "I like blue, okay?" He looked positively flustered.

A shiver ran across Nico's skin as he watched Percy work. "Aren't you cold?" he asked. He didn't get how Percy could stand the chill in his underwear.

"Oh. Yeah, I sort of got used to it. Hold on, I'll get you something to wear if you want." He transferred the pancakes from his pans to two plates, on top of two stacks, and turned off the stove. "I'll be right back."

Percy disappeared into his bedroom before Nico could argue, and came back, holding an article of clothing, which he tossed to Nico.

Caught by surprise, he dropped it, and fumbled to get it back while Percy went back to the kitchen to take the plates. It was a black hoodie, embroidered with a silver trident on the front, and the faded leftovers of an inscription which was now illegible. Thankful, Nico put it on; even though it was way too large for him, it was delightfully warm.

"Thanks," he told Percy, who walked to the couches with the plates in hand.

"You look adorable. Now, come on," he said as he settled on the couch he'd been sleeping on, and waving at Nico to come sit next to him.

He did, and Percy handed him one of the plates, a stack of pancakes complete with maple syrup, whipped cream, powdered sugar, and blueberries. "This is going to make a mess," he noted.

"Who cares," Percy said, turning on the television, and switching the channel to the fabled cartoons. Nico wasn't familiar most recent American cartoons, but at first, he was too focused on trying not to spread sugar everywhere on his clothes or on the couch to even watch; they only provided a nice distraction, a background noise to fill the silence.

Percy hadn't lied; those pancakes were excellent. The blue color was a little disconcerting at first, but their texture was absolutely flawless, and the toppings combined for a perfect taste. Nico didn't exactly have a sweet tooth, but this was too good for anyone to dislike, and the only thing that stopped him from scarfing it all down at once was the fear of spilling everything. Even then, it only took him a few minutes to eat it all.

They placed their empty plates on the coffee table, and Percy grabbed the blanket back to throw it over the two of them, then settled more comfortably on the couch with a contented sigh. Nico chuckled, trying his best to focus on the cartoons, but they all just slipped by without being processed by his mind. He supposed they were funny, on some level, but he couldn't quite care.

But the cartoons had a strangely hypnotic effect, and Nico's instincts took over his body from more reasonable thoughts. As he looked for a comfortable position, he ended up snuggling closer to Percy, and Percy wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer. They shifted ever so slightly, Percy angling himself to let Nico lie back against his own chest, and resting his head on Nico's shoulder.

It all happened gradually, almost unconsciously, but soon Nico was wrapped in Percy's arms under the blanket, and they were still just watching cartoons. With the hoodie, the blanket and Percy's body right against his, the heat was quickly unbearable, but it barely registered when he removed the hoodie. Minutes later, he kicked the blanket off, causing Percy to hug him a little closer even.

They barely talked at all, but it was just as well; words would have probably broken the spell, shattered the illusion. When morning turned to noon and the cartoons were replaced by other, somehow even less interesting programs, Percy turned off the television, and they lay frozen for a minute, pressed against each other.

Then, slowly, Nico shifted once more, turning to face Percy. He could feel the other boy's heartbeat thrumming against his own skin, and in his eyes, he found a fascinated longing. That was all he needed. He closed the distance, capturing Percy's lips with his. The other boy grabbed a firmer hold of him, clinging to him, as if to never let him go again.

The extra height Nico had gained since the last time made him fit perfectly in that embrace, and he gave in to it. For a brief moment, he was transported back to the last summer, to a happier time; but it didn't last. This was different, but not necessarily bad. It was not a carefree, lust-ridden kiss, in spite of Percy's current state of undress; it was more of a long-awaited reunion, a renewal.

Like the reunion of Persephone and her mother, bringing spring to Earth, the Mythomagic nerd in him provided. The thought made him chuckle, and Percy pulled back, casting him a curious glance, but Nico ignored him and kissed him again. But Percy pulled away once more, cupping Nico's face with one hand to stop him this time.

"Hang on a minute," he said, chuckling. "We should—"

Nico flared up at once. "Don't you dare tell me I'm still too young. I'm not taking that answer anymore."

Percy just smirked. "I wouldn't dare."

"Then what were you going to say?"

"I'm… not really sure. Just— What is this?"

"I thought it would be obvious."

"You know what I mean. What are we doing? You've— you've just come to live here for a while, you can't just kiss me and then pretend it never happened. What do you want, Nico?"

Nico paused, unsettled by the seriousness of Percy's tone. "I don't really know," he said, scooting away from Percy. "I just… really wanted to kiss you. I didn't think any further than that. And I'd like to do it again. I want to— I don't know. Be with you, I guess."

Percy nodded, but there was a shadow in his eyes. "So do I. But Nico… Are you sure? I mean, are you— are we good?"

He knew exactly what Percy meant— _who_  he meant. "I—"

"Don't," Percy interrupted him. "Don't tell me it's okay just because you think I want to hear it."

Nico looked him in the eye, catching the sorrow. He remembered what he'd thought after the accident, how Percy had looked devastated and how Nico had thought he had no right to be. But what he'd seen of Percy in the past couple of days had shown him that, whether Nico liked it or not, Percy  _was_  sorry for what had happened to Bianca. Worse, he regretted it—he couldn't forgive himself. Nico had thought of Percy as guilty of a crime against him, and that was still true. But Percy was suffering as well, and in that sense, they were alike.

"What if it's true, though? What if I  _do_  forgive you? What if I'd prefer that we help each other move on? I can't be angry at you forever, and you can't blame yourself forever."

"I don't deserve your forgiveness." Percy's eyes glistened with tears, and Nico reached out to cup his face.

"Well, I'm not even sure that I've forgiven you yet. But I think you deserve a shot at earning forgiveness. I think  _we_  deserve a chance full stop." He kissed Percy again, briefly. "And I won't take any more arguing from you."

Percy laughed and started to cry all at once, and Nico pulled him closer, letting him cry on his shoulder, holding him tight. "I'm sorry," Percy repeated over and over, and Nico wasn't sure it was meant for him, for Bianca, or for anyone in particular.

"Are you going to be okay?" Nico asked when Percy finally pulled away.

"I think so."

"Are we good, then?"

Percy chuckled again. "You're the one who calls the shot on that one."

"I mean—" Nico wasn't sure how to phrase his question. "Are we… together?"

A true smile finally bloomed on Percy's face. "I guess we are."

Nico was pretty certain his heart exploded, there and then.

* * *

For a minute or so, Nico didn't know what to do next. It was one thing to say they were together, but what now? Did they even have to  _do_  anything? Kissing Percy again would feel almost redundant right now.

The spell of the moment was broken by the distinct sound of a Skype call alert. Nico didn't know when exactly Percy had turned on his laptop, but it was while they were still watching those cartoons.

That thought made Nico chuckle, as Percy hurried to see who was calling. How did a morning go from perfect pancakes, to cartoons, to  _this_? Life sure was weird sometimes. But he could deal with more of this brand of weirdness.

"Hey, man," Percy said, grinning at the screen.

"Hi. Um, are you naked?" The voice was familiar, even with the distortion of computer speakers and bad Internet connection—it was Jason. "Can I expect a show?" That flirtatious tone was new, though.

Percy glanced down at himself and finally seemed to realize he was still in his underwear. "Oh, no, I'm not— Not at all!" he stumbled over his words, and a blush crept up his neck. "I'm with Nico right now."

"Really? Can he hear me? Hi, Nico!"

Sighing, Nico moved behind the couch to be visible by the webcam. "Hi. It's been a while."

"Yeah, it has. Why didn't you call me?"

"Aren't you at least going to  _pretend_  you're surprised?" Percy asked.

"Well, I  _am_  waiting for an explanation, but I figured you wouldn't be able to resist telling me anyway."

"Nico lives here. With me."

Jason rose an eyebrow, glancing at Nico, but he said nothing. Sighing, Nico realized he still hadn't told Percy what had happened. "It's my mom. She's never been… accepting, after I first came out, but— it's gotten worse." He averted Percy's concerned eyes, focusing on the laptop. At least it was possible to pretend he didn't notice Jason's expression when it was pixelated. "Percy's the only person I knew in the city."

"Ah. It's purely for practical purposes, then. Just escaping from an abusive household."

"My mom's not  _abusive_ ," Nico protested. "She's has a hard time coping, ever since— ever since last summer."

"If you say so. It's probably best you left anyway. How's it going between you two, then?" A grin formed on his face. "Is it even safe for me to ask? What with mister naked over here."

"It's nothing like that!" Nico said.

"It  _is_  sort of like that, actually," Percy objected. Nico glared at him, but he supposed Percy was right. "Well, it's been for about five minutes now. You have the weirdest timing, Jason."

"So I get exclusivity, too." He sounded way too pleased by the news. "Congratulations, you guys. Oh, can I tell the girls?"

Percy glanced at Nico, who replied with a confused frown. "Sure, I guess. If you have nothing better to talk about."

"Great! Well, I should probably leave you to it, then, right? I didn't interrupt anything, at least, did I?"

Percy smirked. "Nah, you didn't."

"Okay, great. Wouldn't want to be your very first cock block. Anyway, talk to you guys soon!"

The call ended abruptly before either of them could answer. "Well, that was pointless," Nico noted.

"He calls every week. At least. I think he's checking up on me. Making sure I'm okay."

"I see." He would probably have done the same in Jason's place, if what he'd seen of Percy in the past few days was any indication. "And me being here means you're okay?" Not moving from his position behind the couch, he leaned forward to wrap his arms around Percy's shoulder, placing a kiss on the back of his neck.

A chuckle escaped him. "Better, at least." He craned his neck to catch Nico's lips with his, but they only kissed briefly. "But I probably should get dressed now. Just in case someone else decides to barge in."

Nico made no effort to hide his disappointment at Percy getting dressed, but it was mostly for the show. There would be other moments, other opportunities. At least, so he hoped.


	10. Chapter 10

Jason's call may have ended a moment between Nico and Percy, but it also helped them come back down to reality a little. Specifically, to Nico's bag, and Percy's promise to help unpack it, which they worked on after lunch.

The major problem came from the lack of space in Percy's tiny apartment. All he had to store clothes were a diminutive wardrobe and a few drawers, and most of that was already used.

Between that puzzle of organization and Nico's reluctance at intruding on Percy's space, they spent a few hours solving this issue—in spite of Percy's dismissal of the latter. Even then, Nico didn't mind; the brainstorming, the frantic attempts at shoving everything inside, even the failures, all that helped them transition into a new dynamic. They'd barely had time to find a routine yet, but it has been shaken the moment they'd decided to start a relationship, and this simple task helped them to simply  _be_  together, to exist in the same room, to function together.

In the end, Percy just gave up, and moved a few piles of his own clothes to a chair in his bedroom to make space for Nico's—and no objection changed his mind. Everything was cramped, and would probably come out wrinkled, but it was the best solution they could come up with.

With that out of the way, the two of them crashed on the couches again, tired of all the struggling it had taken to get everything sorted. Eventually, Percy turned on his console again, throwing a controller to Nico, and they spent a few hours playing, until evening came.

"Any plans for dinner?" Nico asked. He hadn't looked through all the kitchen cupboards yet, but he doubted Percy had a lot of food to cook at all, except for pancake ingredients.

Percy's face lit up, and he turned off the console. "Actually, yes. I'm taking you out."

Nico scoffed. "What, on a date?"

Percy remained absolutely serious, however. "Yes, on a date. Why, does that surprise you? You're getting the full 'dating Percy Jackson' experience."

'Dating Percy Jackson'. Those words still felt a little unreal; especially after how…  _normal_  the afternoon had been. "I— I just hadn't really thought about that. I've never been on a date before."

Percy chuckled. "I  _think_  you'll survive."

Sighing, Nico stood up, glancing down at himself. "That's not really what I meant. But I need to change before we go." A damn shame, too: he didn't want to part with Percy's hoodie if he didn't have to.

"Well it's not like I'm taking you to some fancy restaurant. Unless— you'd like me to?"

The flustered way he asked made Nico laugh. "Nah, anywhere's fine." He managed to stop himself before something too corny—like 'as long as it's with you'—could escape his mouth. "But I'm still going to change."

Five minutes later, Nico was wearing jeans and one of his many black shirts, and they left Percy's apartment. They didn't go far, stopping at a diner two blocks from there, where Percy was apparently a regular customer, if the waitress's reaction was any indication.

"Oh, hi, Percy! It's been a while, I was starting to think you'd forgotten about us." She punctuated her words with a pout, and Nico took an immediate dislike to her.

"Yeah, I know, Angela. I've been through a lot."

She raised an eyebrow, and her words fired before Percy could say anything else. "Oh, do tell! Or, wait, don't, you'll tell me all about it while you're eating. The usual table?"

"Um, actually, we'd like a table for two." A confused frown had formed on Percy's face, as if he hadn't realized that Angela hadn't even acknowledged Nico's presence yet.

She glanced at Nico. "Right. Sorry. And who're you?"

Nico had no intention to answer her suddenly cold tone, but Percy didn't seem to mind. "Angela, this is Nico, my boyfriend." At the word 'boyfriend', Angela's face dissolved into petrified mortification.

"Right. Nice to meet you, Nico. Well, follow me, boys."

"Did you really have to tell her?" Nico whispered to Percy as they followed her through the diner. It was fairly small, and with its wooden furniture, had an old-timey look to it; but even with most tables occupied, it didn't feel crowded. They quickly reached the table.

"Here you go! I'll bring you the menu."

After she left, Percy eyed Nico curiously. "What do you mean, 'did I have to tell her'? Do you want me to lie about our relationship?"

"No, it's not that, I just—" He had to pause as Angela came back with the menus, then left again. "She was obviously flirting with you, and— I think you made everything a little uncomfortable."

Percy stared at him, skeptical. "Angela flirts with most guys. Also, I came here with Jason once; that didn't deter her." The off-handed mention of Jason was a little surprising; Nico hadn't ever really found out how involved they used to be. "That can't possibly be the problem. There's something else, right?"

Nico sighed. "I'm just not sure it's a good idea to flaunt our relationship. Couldn't you get in trouble? Because of my age?"

Percy raised an eyebrow. " _You're_  the one who said I couldn't argue about that anymore," he said, teasing. "But you're right. I looked it up; the age of consent is seventeen in New York. I'm eighteen, you're fifteen; that's a problem. But then again, that's  _my_  problem."

"It's kind of my problem too," Nico argued.

"And it's not a problem at all until you're ready to have sex, anyway."

His matter-of-fact tone did nothing to prevent Nico from flaring up almost instantly, a blush covering most of his face—setting him on fire, and not the pleasant kind of usually felt around Percy. "I just—"

" _You just_  need to relax a little and enjoy the moment. It'll be fine."

Nico sighed. "I guess you're right."

* * *

Angela came back for their orders, and she was already back to her warm, flirtatious self—she even unfroze a little towards Nico. Percy had probably been right about her; she must have been surprised by Nico's presence. Or his age. Whatever. He had to enjoy the moment, as Percy had said. It was what Bianca had wished for him on her New Year's card, too.

Percy more or less coerced Nico into trying out the burger, and he had been absolutely right; they were excellent. And with no apologies to get out, with all the ghosts of their past resolutely behind them, and no silly occupation to keep them busy, Percy and Nico could finally talk.

It started out awkward, of course. For all Nico liked Percy, he realized he didn't know that much about him. They had talked about themselves, of course, back at Camp Half-Blood, but there was only so much they could say in three weeks. Conversation went all over the place, from what led Percy to first join Camp Half-Blood, to anecdotes of Nico's time in Italy and New Orleans.

When Angela brought desserts—she called them 'Petits Gateaux', a chocolate cake with a molten chocolate core—she made a comment that piqued Nico's curiosity. "Here you go. You're a lucky one," she pretended to whisper to Nico, but had barely lowered her voice. "It's our best dessert, but Percy's never shared that secret with anyone before."

Nico was too taken aback to reply, but she didn't seem to mind, and left with a wink. As she did, Nico glanced at Percy. "She meant—Jason, right?"

Percy bit his lip. "Yeah."

"Why didn't either of you ever tell me—"

He shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. The year before you came to Camp Half-Blood, I was dating Annabeth, but we broke up a few days before camp started, and Jason was assigned as my partner. We didn't really get along at the time, but it… sort of changed."

"Obviously enough," Nico teased with a smile.

"It didn't really mean anything. We were good—we were  _the best_. We had both just been through a tough breakup. And we kind of ended up sleeping in the same bed more often than not—but it was just for comfort, we didn't, you know,  _sleep together_. Then he came over for the rest of summer, and we took it a little further. It was fun, but it didn't last long."

"I  _do_  have trouble picturing you two dating."

"Exactly," Percy said, laughing. "At first, I was tempted to invite him over this summer too, but then I met you, he got back with Piper and Reyna, so it didn't happen."

The way he said 'I met you', like it was the most important part of that story, made Nico's heart flutter. "I'll never understand how you can all be such good friends when you spend most of the year apart."

"Well, this is the first time. When we were in high school, we would see each other all the time, during weekends or holidays. Now, with college, it's a little more complicated. I hope we can do something for spring break, though." He didn't look certain about that, though—and visibly disappointed.

Nico figured he should change his mind. "You know, I still don't know where you go to college."

A half-smile formed on Percy's lips. "Columbia. I study the classics."

"The 'classics'…?" Nico frowned.

"Latin and ancient Greek. Mostly the latter, because I like it more."

Nico gaped at him. "I— didn't really picture you studying dead languages."

Percy shrugged, chuckling. "What can I say, we all have our hidden facets. I started learning Ancient Greek years ago, after my mom took me on a trip to Greece. My dad's family was from there, and she thought I should at least get to see it once."

"Your dad—"

"He passed away before I was born." The words had shot out of Percy's mouth, and there was a strange, resolute expression in his eyes.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Thanks. But that does remind me…" Nico braced himself; he knew what came next. "What's going on with your mom? You weren't very clear this morning, with Jason."

Nico looked away. "I said everything there was to say."

"You said she wasn't accepting of you since you came out. But that was a while ago, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, a few years ago. We still lived in Italy."

"So what changed?"

"What do you  _think_  changed?" Nico's words had come out more aggressively than he'd intended, and he did his best to calm down. "After Bianca died, she— I don't really know. I think she suffers from depression? She's taking medication for it, anyway, but she's never come close to recovering. Most of the time, she was just… absent. Sometimes she would erupt, but it was over almost immediately, so I ignored it. But on my birthday—" He stopped, unwilling to conjure the memory of his conversation with his mom.

"Hey, it's— it's okay. You don't have to talk about it. I shouldn't have asked." He paused. "It sucks, that you had to deal with that, on top of everything else."

Nico sighed. "Yeah. And thanks. For giving me a way out. It was probably weird to see me at your doorstep."

Percy smiled, and reached across the table to take Nico's hand. "It's my pleasure."

* * *

Even bringing up memories of Bianca and of his mom couldn't dampen the mood for very long. But the evening had to come to an end eventually, when Angela practically kicked them out of the diner.

They emerged on the street, laughing at her outburst, and Percy wrapped an arm around Nico, holding him close against the cold as they walked back to the apartment. Before heading in, however, Percy paused in front of the building.

"What is it?" Nico asked, looking up at him.

A grin was spread on Percy's face. "I did promise you the full 'dating Percy Jackson' experience, didn't I? Usually, they end here."

"But we both live here, that's—"

He was cut off as Percy kissed him, in a way that was very cinematic. He held Nico closer, his warm presence overwhelming Nico's senses completely. It was a more chaste kiss than what they'd previously shared—there were no wandering hands, no frantic attempts at increasing the contact between them. Just their lips, but it seemed more… romantic, this way. More appropriate for a first date, Nico supposed.

When Percy pulled back, Nico was breathless and dizzy, and he was glad for Percy's arms keeping him steady. "Okay. I get why you wouldn't want to skip on that."

Percy chuckled, and kissed him again, quickly. "Come on, let's get inside."

The air in the apartment was barely less cold than outside, but it was a perfectly valid reason for Nico to cling to Percy a little while longer. That little while soon turned into a long while, until they ended up sprawled on Percy's bed, their arms linked around each other; not even kissing anymore, just content to be in each other's proximity.

Nico rested his head on Percy's chest, and drifted off to the sound of his heartbeat. As he was about to fall asleep, he forced himself to move. "I'll get back to the couch."

Percy stopped him with the hand that still rested on Nico's back. "Don't be ridiculous. You can stay here."

"But I'm still dressed." His complaint was half-hearted at best; if Nico were honest, he really didn't want to move right now.

Percy sighed. "Just take off your pants. It's not that difficult." He sat up just long enough to take off his own jeans, then collapsed back on the bed. "What? It's not like this is the first time."

It wasn't, and the compromise was perfectly acceptable to Nico, who complied. Moments later, he was back in Percy's arms, who wrapped his blanket around the two of them. "Good night, Nico."

"Good night."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, it's been forever since I've updated. I tried to chase the wrong plot bunny, got frustrated, then real life got in the way and I chose to devote my writing time to other projects. Sorry. Hopefully I'm not going to drop the ball again. Or not as badly, at least.
> 
> Also sorry for the short chapter, but I felt it was better to split it here than later.

Over the next week, Nico and Percy gradually found their mark around each other, figuring out a working dynamic. It wasn't a routine yet—it hadn't been long enough for that—but it was getting close, and it was comforting.

Their budding relationship with Percy was exciting, and Nico loved when there was no more responsibilities left to deal with and they could just play games or talk or snuggle; but he needed stability a lot more than all of that. And, he suspected, so did Percy, for that matter. So they moved at the slowest possible pace, never going beyond kissing and cuddling at night. Even their occasional make-outs were tamer than they had been, back at Camp Half-Blood.

Nico's teenage hormones made him ache for more, but he wasn't sure he was really ready for that. A part of him couldn't help but feel like he'd ended up at Percy's apartment out of necessity, and that having sex with him now would be out of gratitude more than anything. It was a small doubt, but he refused to have his first time, or their relationship, plagued with any doubts.

Percy hadn't pressed him, either. Whether he had his own doubts, just wanted to give Nico space, or something else, Nico couldn't tell. But he was grateful for that.

He met Percy's mom and stepdad a week after moving in. Sally had done most of the talking, and, after taking her son in a private discussion in what used to be his bedroom (and still was, since she hadn't repurposed it yet), had given them her blessing, although she also warned them to "be careful and take it as slow as you feel like, and even slower". It had been uncomfortable to sit through her rant, but she was right, of course. And to Nico, knowing an adult looked out for him once more was worth being uncomfortable.

As they were leaving, though, Nico caught a glimpse of pity in Sally's eyes. "Does she know about Bianca?" he asked Percy once they were alone in the elevator. Maybe Nico was wrong, and it hadn't been about his sister, but that look had wakened the question in his mind, and he needed to know.

Percy was silent until they were out on the street. "She knows about the accident, of course," he said, grim. "And that somebody died. I didn't tell her it was your sister, but mom probably remembers her last name. And she knows you were at the camp too."

Nico nodded."How did she react?" Percy's blank expression made him realize he's lost track of their conversation. "To the accident, I mean." He'd only had a glimpse of its impact on Percy's life so far.

"Not well, obviously. Especially since it was the second time it happened. I mean, there's a reason I don't have a car anymore."

"But—"

"Can you drop it?"

Startled by the outburst, Nico backed away slightly. "Sorry, I—"

Percy sighed. "No,  _I'm_  sorry. It's just— I'd rather not think about that right now. Couldn't we focus on something a little happier?"

* * *

Avoiding Bianca completely was impossible, however. The next morning, Nico woke up alone for the first time since being in Percy's apartment. Nico found the other boy at the dining table, in front of his laptop. A pile of books and papers rested to his right and a mug of coffee was abandoned to his left.

"What're you doing?"

Percy started at the sound of Nico's voice. "I didn't hear you coming. I'm— doing some catching up."

"'Catching up'?" Intrigued, Nico walked up to him, burying his nose in Percy's hair as he planted a kiss on his forehead.

Percy had a nervous laugh. "Yeah. I've been lagging behind for a few months. Well, most of last semester, really. And since it was my first semester in college, it didn't make a good impression."

Nico knew what he meant—since the accident. "And you started working again… because of me?"

"Well that's not self-centered at all," Percy teased. "But… maybe?"

Nico returned his grin. "'Maybe'? Care to elaborate?"

"Well, it's just… it's hard to focus on work when I'm too busy beating myself up mentally." Percy took a deep breath. "It's not like I never do it anymore, but— Your forgiveness is important to me, is what I mean. Even though I'm sure I don't really have it just yet."

"I'm pretty sure I'm a little too involved now to  _not_  forgive you." Nico had meant the words lightly, but seeing the look of dismay on Percy's face, he regretted them instantly. "I mean, I'm not going to ignore your mistake just because you agreed to go out with me. I would never have started anything with you if I hadn't forgiven you first. I thought we'd been over this."

"Maybe I just need to hear it over and over. I'm not very smart." His unwavering grin contradicted his self-deprecation, but Nico felt like taking it down anyway.

"Says the guy who got into an elite college."

"Only because my stepdad is a professor there."

Nico stared at him. "Are you seriously fishing for compliments? I thought this was a serious conversation."

Percy scoffed. "Geez, fine. Let's be serious. Maybe I really do need to be sure you're not here because you feel indebted to me."

"I'm not. I came here because my mom basically forced me out. But I stayed because I love you."

There was a moment of stunned silence as they both processed what Nico had said. It had come out in the spur of the moment, and Nico was pretty sure it was against all his resolutions—and Sally's advice—to go slow. But to hell with that. He  _did_  love Percy, and as the boy's stunned expression was beginning to vanish, Nico closed the distance between them to kiss him. Both to demonstrate he really meant the words, and to force Percy to think before speaking.

The latter, at least, was a success. Percy pulled away gently, his face still hovering close to Nico's. "I guess I could manage if I heard you say  _that_  over and over instead."

A petulant part of Nico felt disappointed that he didn't immediately return the words, but he suppressed it. "I love you." Should he try to make some heartfelt speech to explain it? No. It was corny, and it didn't fit. "I love you." The words were enough.

Percy's chuckle tore him out of the moment. "I believed you the first time. My turn now. I love you too, Nico."

Nico let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, anxieties vanishing in a strangled mixture of a chuckle and a sigh.

"But, as awesome as it is that we could say that to each other, I would also love being able to tell my mom I'm not failing again." He nodded towards the pile of books, that Nico had knocked over the table in his enthusiasm to kiss Percy.

Even that wasn't enough to kill Nico's smile—nor Percy's, apparently. "You know, I have homework too. Stay right there, I'll join you."

"Doing homework together. How romantic."

"You're the one who started it." Nico ignored Percy's complaints as he looked for his school bag.


	12. Chapter 12

Nothing had really changed in the next week, strictly speaking, but everything felt different to Nico. It shouldn't have been such a big deal, to tell Percy he loved him and hear him say it back, but it was.

If nothing else, it seemed to have cleared away some of the doubt hanging between them. And thus, when Saturday morning came again and they had their ritual breakfast in front of cartoons, it was no surprise when Percy nearly flung himself at Nico, pushing their blanket to the floor so he could lie on top of Nico. It was familiar—that was, after all, how their relationship had started—but there was a new hunger in Percy's kiss, echoed by the movement of his hand down Nico's stomach and settling on his inner thigh.

Nico tensed unwillingly at the contact, and Percy froze. "Is—are you—is it okay if I—?"

"I—why now? Why didn't we do this before?" Nico was deeply aware that Percy hadn't moved an inch—including his hand, far too close to Nico's suddenly growing erection for comfort. Percy could probably feel that, too.

"I don't know, maybe we were scared and—I don't know. Do you want to stop?"

Did he? Nico took a deep breath. "No. I don't." He just wasn't sure if he would want to go as far as Percy did. But he could always change his mind then.

Percy interrupted his frantic stream of thoughts brutally, his mouth crashing against Nico's as his hips moved just enough to the side and his hand replaced them. Nico's gasp at the sensation died in the other boy's mouth as he palmed over Nico's crotch through his sweatpants. The adrenaline flooding through his veins made Nico suddenly bold, and he untangled one hand from Percy's hair, moving it to find the boy's erection, pressed against his leg through his shorts. Percy's visible shiver at the contact was the most satisfying of reactions.

Nico moved his other hand to tug at the neck of Percy's shirt, and he got the message, sitting up long enough to remove it. They held gazes for a moment—there was nothing particularly unordinary about this, but knowing it would escalate suddenly made seeing Percy shirtless much more intense—and then Percy helped Nico sit up as well and took his shirt in a single motion, forcing Nico to let go of him to accompany the movement with his arms.

The shirt flew as if of its own volition, and before Nico could see it land, Percy pinned him down against the couch once more. His hand moved to Nico's waistband, and paused there, with just his fingertips inside, waiting for approval.

Words were beyond Nico's reach right now, so he just nodded—then threw his head back as Percy's hand wrapped around him. It was a strange feeling: familiar skin on skin contact, yet the only hand that had touched his dick before was his own, and he could feel the contact on both ends. Percy's hands were larger, unmistakably different, and the alienness of the contact could have been disturbing if not for the knowledge of who it was. Trust led to abandon as Percy's hand moved, slowly, trying to find its mark. But even this tortuously slow pace was nowhere near slow enough.

"Stop," Nico said, and Percy froze.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I— I just don't want to end right now."

"Oh." But Percy relaxed his hand. "Well, what do you—" He stopped as Nico tugged down his shorts and grabbed hold of his cock. There was a small moment of surprise at how different this felt, but he ignored it and gave a tentative stroke, reveling in the strangled noise Percy made and stroking again. He built up rhythm, unable to keep a slow pace as Percy had done for him. He couldn't—not as he witnessed Percy falling apart right on top of him.

Still keeping a firm hand on Percy's dick, he shifted his weight, ending up on top with barely a struggle from Percy. The boy did seem to notice what he was doing, though, and he kicked away his shorts, then worked to pull down Nico's pants as well.

Nico let go of him long enough to throw his sweatpants and boxers away, then settled on top of the boy again. He paused, unable not to stare. He'd seen Percy naked in the showers at Camp Half-Blood, and he'd seen Percy aroused, but never both at the same time. Never like this. The deep flush of his skin contrasted against his tan, in a way that Nico's skin couldn't show due to his Mediterranean heritage; his short breaths caused a constant rise and fall in his chest, highlighting muscles Nico didn't even know existed until then. His green eyes were shining with lust—and, Nico hoped, love as well—as he ran his own appreciative gaze up and down Nico's body.

He couldn't help but compare their dicks, too, which was probably childish, but it was the first time he really had the opportunity, and curiosity had won out. Percy's was longer, but Nico had expected that much from their size and age differences; it was slightly curved upwards, and oh so appealing.

But now that he'd lost his momentum, Nico could wait for a moment longer. He lay down to kiss Percy, deeply, slowly, and only when he'd had enough of a first kiss did he take hold of Percy again. The boy took it as a signal, and started stroking Nico in response, and this time, Nico gave in to the feelings. Seeing Percy writhing in echo of his own strokes was only more arousing.

Neither of them lasted very long, but Nico felt a tinge of pride at managing to make Percy come first, if only by a few seconds. Boneless, he crashed on top of the boy, unable to care about the stickiness against his skin. He rested his head on Percy's shoulder, and remained silent, breathing in the scent of his boyfriend—or should he call him lover now? Did it really matter?

Even those pointless thoughts faded. He wasn't sleeping, and neither was Percy; they were drifting somewhere in-between.

"Well." Percy's word came hushed, as if he were still out of breath—but he wasn't, Nico could hear his breathing and feel the rise of his chest. Maybe he didn't dare break the moment.

Nico lifted his head to look him in the eye. "Well," he said in echo. "So much for taking it slower than we feel like."

"I don't know, you could argue that we held out for a long time for two dumb and horny teenagers who live together unmonitored."

"I'm not dumb."

"But you  _were_  horny."

Nico chuckled. "Can't lie about that."

"Are you okay, though?" Concern appeared out of nowhere in Percy's voice and on his face. "It was your first time, and—"

"It's  _fine_. Besides, it's not like we—" Nico paused, looking for the right words. "It's not like we did the most extreme stuff."

"It still matters. If I pushed you too hard, you need to—"

"Shut up. I said it's fine."

"It's probably still illegal."

Nico stared at him blankly. "Really?  _Now_  you're worried about that?"

Percy chuckled. "If you're sure you're fine, then… how about round two? Maybe we can move closer to the… most extreme stuff."

Nico paused to consider it, but shook his head eventually. "No. I mean, it's not a definitive 'no', just… not right now. I don't want to try something now, find out I don't like it, and ruin the memory. I don't know if that makes sense."

"Yeah. It does." Percy's answer had come without delay, and with a hint of longing. Nico wondered if he'd made that mistake himself. "I know what you're thinking," Percy said. "The answer's yes. My first time was with Annabeth—remember her, from camp?—back when I was about your age. It… didn't go well."

"Because she's a girl?"

"No. We did get it right later. We just fucked up the first few tries."

So. Yet another of Percy's exes. Nico was surprised to find that he didn't mind. "Well, I wouldn't say  _this_  was a fuck-up."

Percy smiled. "Neither would I." He kissed Nico briefly, and the sudden movement reminded Nico of the semen sticking on both their skins.

"I really need a shower, now," he said, chuckling.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

Percy's question took him aback. "I—I'm not sure—"

"I'm not trying to have sex with you. Again. I just want to have a shower with you. If you're okay with it, I mean."

Nico nodded, and they got off the couch and to the bathroom.

* * *

They took their time in the shower, neither of them willing to let go of the other. And maybe Percy had been a little dishonest about his intentions, but due to a little annoyance called a refractory period, nothing came of it except for a deep, passionate kiss.

To Nico, the experience of being naked with someone on his own terms was enough, though. The feeling of intimacy that came with it was something he'd never experienced—the most intimate he'd ever been to someone was his sister Bianca, and, well, she'd been his  _sister_ —and it was delectable.

The water had gone lukewarm when they stepped out of the shower, and Nico was reluctant to get dressed and end this moment once and for all. But he did, and, as it turned out, just on time for Jason's weekly Skype call.

"Hey guys—wait, am I interrupting something? Why are you both dripping wet? No, don't answer that, I don't want to know."

Nico couldn't help but giggle at his obviously faked disgust. "No, you're calling at the right time, actually."

"Although I  _am_  starving now," Percy noted in a distracted voice. "Is there a reason for you not hiding the glasses away?"

Jason nearly jumped in his seat at the question. Jason  _was_  wearing glasses, with a rectangular frame, and a black rim just not thick enough to qualify as stereotypical hipster glasses. He'd never seen him with them before; he didn't even know Jason needed glasses. And, judging by his startled reaction, that was intentional. Jason took them off instantly. "I've had my nose in books all week. You know how it is."

"Kind of, yeah." Percy had been working to catch up for the past week, as he'd told Nico. "So is that all that's going on on the West Coast?"

"Well, not much. As I said, I really haven't had time for anything because of this paper. But I did get an interesting offer from Piper, and she said I should extend it to you. Her dad's going to be shooting a movie in Italy soon, and since he'll be there during spring break, he offered Piper to come over with her friends. Spring break in Florence, what do you think?"

"Dude, that sounds  _awesome_."

"Um—does that include me too?" Nico added in a softer voice.

Jason seemed surprised by his question. "Of course. Why wouldn't it?"

"It's just—I'll probably have to ask my mom about it. And…"

There was a moment of awkward silence. "Well," Jason said, "Piper's dad is paying for the plane tickets, and we'll be staying at his place—"

"I don't think money would have been the problem, but I'll keep it in mind." Mostly he didn't want to have to face her again. It had been over three weeks since he'd left home, and she hadn't even tried to find out if he was still alive. It's not like he was difficult to find, since he still went to school.

Percy lay a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "We'll figure it out. I mean, you've already got a passport, since you moved to the States recently, right? So it's not like there's any real hurry."

Nico looked up to him, the concern in Percy's eyes—and the implications that Percy would help him—making him tear up. "Right."

"We'll let you know as quickly as possible, Jason. But now I'm really starving. Talk to you soon." Percy's hurry was obvious, and he ended it before Jason could reply. "Are you okay?"

Was he? "Yes. Mostly. I'm just not looking forward to that."

"I'll come with you. You don't have to face her alone."

"I don't think meeting my boyfriend will make it much better, but…thanks. I don't think I could face her alone." He sighed. "Let's talk about this tomorrow. Today didn't start so well to be ruined now."

"Right. I can't believe it. We're going to Italy!"

Percy's enthusiasm may have been a little forced—or maybe it was just Nico's mood tainting everything. In which case, it had better stop now. "You know, it's not such a big deal to me."

Percy laughed. "Right. I forgot. Wait, do you know Florence? Have you ever lived there?"

"Not much. My family mostly lived in Verona, although we did spend a few years in Rome, too. I spent a day in Florence once, but that's all. And I was way too young to remember much. There's one thing…" Bianca had almost fallen in the Arno from one of the bridges, he remembered with a fond smile. But he didn't want to bring her up. Not today. Not to Percy.

"Well, we'll get to make memories together, then." Percy's words were a promise, and with them, he wrapped Nico in his arms and held him tight. He didn't have to explain why he did it, and Nico leaned in close to his chest. "Besides… you'll have to be my translator there."

Nico chuckled against Percy's chest. "Sure."

Percy let go of him tentatively, keeping his hands firmly on Nico's shoulders. Only when he caught a glimpse of Nico's lingering smile did he seem to relax. "Okay. Now, I'm  _actually_  starving, so do you mind if we got lunch?"


	13. Chapter 13

The need to go warn Nico's mom about their planned vacation would only become more pressing if they procrastinated it, as Percy reminded him the next morning. Nico couldn't be bothered to get up early for her, though, and forced his boyfriend to go back to sleep until shortly before noon.

But then, there was no more avoiding it—mostly because Percy wouldn't let it slide. So they ended up on the subway, Percy slightly grumpy that he was hungry, Nico terrified at the prospect of seeing his mother again.

What if she forced him to stay? What if she attacked him—or worse, if she attacked Percy? He doubted she would, but he wasn't sure what she was and wasn't capable of anymore.

What if she didn't let them in? Nico had his key, of course, but she might have changed the locks.

In his anxiety, his mind returned—of course—to his sister. "Whatever happens, don't talk about Bianca," Nico said. "Ignore the subject if she brings it up." He'd forgiven Percy—it would have to be enough. If most of the scenario he'd pictured were likely exaggerated, he could easily picture Maria calling the police if Percy was to confess to her, accident or not. But what if she already knew somehow?

Ridiculous. There was no way she knew.

"All right." Percy's voice was too neutral to be credible. "It'll be okay, Nico. It's not like we're asking anything  _from_  her."

"In your mind, perhaps," Nico scoffed. "Just being allowed to exist in her presence is already a privilege in hers. As far as I'm concerned, anyway."

"Don't worry. I'm right there. It's going to be fine."

_He_  could say that, of course; it wasn't  _his_  mother treating him like a monster. Nico took a deep breath, trying to soothe his anger. It wasn't really directed at Percy, of course, but he couldn't pretend he didn't envy his relationship with Sally.

The neighborhood hadn't changed, nor had the apartment complex. It felt jarring to Nico. His world had been turned upside down; shouldn't  _something_  have changed? Relief fought with disappointment as he entered his key and the door unlocked without difficulty.

"Mom?" he called out, his voice weak, as he walked inside, Percy right by him.

They found Maria in the living room, standing in front of the couch—probably startled by their entrance.

"Mom, this is Percy. He let me crash for the past few weeks."

She remained silent, her stare blank. No relief that he was back, not even anger that he'd been gone—nothing. "Right."

"I'm glad to meet you, Mrs Di Angelo."

She examined them both thoroughly, as if trying to figure out a complex puzzle. Then, turning to Percy, she said: "So I guess you're the one who turned him into your whore, didn't you? I pictured you as older."

"I'm eighteen, Mrs Di Angelo." Nico was glad he'd ignored the insult; it made it seem less real if it went unacknowledged. As if his mother hadn't called him a whore to his face.

"Still too old. But I shouldn't be surprised that you're preying on little boys. That's the way of people like you."

"Mrs Di Angelo, I—"

"Don't 'Mrs Di Angelo' me. Call me Maria. It's not like you're  _not_  fucking my son. Do you two have a reason for coming here?"

"Your son doesn't need a reason to—"

"Yes, we have a reason." Nico cut him off. Focus on the objective. "We're going to Florence with a few friends over spring break; I wanted to let you know." He'd intentionally avoided to ask permission: he wouldn't get it if he did, and he didn't feel like he needed to anyway.

"If you want money, then it's out if the question."

"A friend's dad is taking care of everything."

Maria scoffed. "Then I don't care. Live your dissolute life." She added an insult in Italian—which Nico didn't bother translating for Percy's intention. Her tone was obvious enough on its own.

"Mrs—Maria—" Percy started, confusion, anger and indignation all mixed on his face.

"What? You're going to ask me to be  _tolerant_? He's a little abomination. A disappointment since long before we left Italy. And then he killed his sister, my perfect Bianca. Do you know that?"

Percy's fist and teeth clenched, but thankfully he kept his promise to stay silent on the subject. "So you're just going to stop caring about him?"

"It's not like I'm being the worst I can be. I could have forced him to stay here. I could have make him feel all the  _hurt_  he's made me feel. He should be happy I'm this lenient with him."

"Are you seriously saying it's okay because you're not beating up your own son?"

"Enough," Nico said. Both Maria and Percy turned to him, both as surprised as he was by the grave tone his voice had taken. "We came to let you know. Now we're leaving. Let's go, Percy." He grabbed the boy's forearm and led the way to the door, only stopping once they were in the staircase. He wouldn't have dared to wait for the elevator; that might have given Maria a chance to follow them.

Nico couldn't fight back his tears as they reached the street, and spent the entire subway ride crying on Percy's shoulder.

* * *

"I'm sorry about that," Percy said when they were finally in the safety of his apartment.

Nico ignored him, nearly ran for the bedroom and threw himself on the bed, trying to suppress the world around him. Maybe he'd grown desensitized to Maria's insults over the years, and spending a few weeks away from his mother had given more impact to her words. Maybe it was the insults towards Percy, the insinuation that he was taking advantage of Nico, and the insidious doubt that she may be right. Maybe it was the matter-of-fact way she'd said she could have beat him up. Maybe he'd just finally started to get some happiness and she'd ruined it.

Well, not quite ruined it, he thought as Percy came to lie down behind him. The boy pulled him closer and kept an arm around him. He remained silent, but his presence was enough. Nico had cried to his heart's content on the way back, so he just lay there, enjoying the comforting warmth.

Eventually, he was the one to break the silence. "This is ridiculous. We shouldn't let this fuck up our Sunday."

"No, it's not," Percy said calmly. "You have every right to be upset, and I should definitely be there to comfort you. I never imagined it would be… like this. I should have taken your word for it."

"Damn right you should've." Nico's tease was too weak to be credible, but Percy chuckled anyway. "Well, at least she said she didn't care. I guess that's as close to getting her blessing as we're going to get."

"Yeah. You're probably right."

There was another moment of silence. Nico eventually broke it again, shifting in Percy's arms to turn and face him. "What about you? She was pretty horrible to you. Are  _you_  okay?"

"I'll live. It's not like I've never met anyone who disapproved of my sexuality before, and…well, she's mostly a stranger to me. I'm more pissed off than anything. You didn't deserve to go through that. When she said you killed Bianca—"

Nico shushed him gently. "I don't care."

"But you weren't even there!"

" _I_  know.  _You_  know. That's what matters."

Percy frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I guess that one just went over me. You know, like it was too much for me to process, so at some point I can't even be hurt anymore." It was true for now, but he knew it would come back later to haunt him. Still, he could do this much to calm down Percy.

The boy's look turned into one of pity, and he kissed Nico gently on the lips. "This sucks."

"Yeah. But it won't stop sucking if we sulk about it." Nico sat up, forcing himself out of Percy's arms with a tinge of disappointment. "We should go out and get lunch." All things considered, he was glad they hadn't eaten before, because he wasn't sure he would have been able to keep it in. "I've got homework to do, and I'm pretty sure you do too. And then…maybe we can try that round two we never had yesterday."


	14. Chapter 14

In the end, their round two was interrupted by a surprise visit by Sally Jackson in the late afternoon, which turned into her taking them out to a restaurant downtown. Over dinner, Percy told her about Piper's invitation to Florence, and they ended up forced to tell her about their visit to Nico's mom in the morning. Nico would have rather avoided talking about it, but if he had to tell anyone, he supposed Sally's warm love and acceptance would be preferable to anyone else's pity. Percy's caring side definitely came from his mother, there was no denying it.

But pleasant as dinner had been, it had ended late, and Percy had morning classes (on top of Nico, being in high school,  _always_  having morning classes), so they gave up on their plans and went to sleep straight away. Plus, if Nico was honest to himself, he wasn't sure exhaustion and upset from the morning's emotional turmoil would make for the best second time ever.

A group project held Percy on campus until late at night every day of the week after that, further preventing them from any fooling around. It was frustrating at times, and Nico hated the feeling of separation that resulted—even if they still slept together at night—but in the end, even the frustration had a positive effect of distracting him from the encounter with his mom.

And it gave him an incentive to linger at school a little more, where he got himself invited to a Mythomagic club somehow. He had never even know there  _was_  a Mythomagic club, in his school or any other. Or that another member of Camp Half-Blood named Leo Valdez went to his school. He vaguely remembered the guy, who was a few years older than him, but Leo definitely knew who he was, what with being Percy's partner and the tragedy with Bianca.

Coming to a club's meeting for the first time, and making a few actual friends at school, made him realize how much of a recluse he'd been, and even worse so since he'd moved in with Percy. He told him as soon as he was back home, and that he was thinking of joining them for good, even if that meant seeing him less often.

"That's great," Percy said. Nico was surprised to find no trace of disappointment in his voice.

"You don't mind?"

Percy shook his head, smiling. "Nico. I love you, and I'm pretty sure that I will miss you whenever you go to that club. But…let's be honest. You could use having a few more friends. Especially friends your age."

"That's not patronizing at all," Nico retorted.

Percy laughed off the remark. "I remember Leo. He used to hang out with Piper and Jason, but then he had family issues and couldn't come to camp for a few years, and when he came back…well, first Jason was with me, and then with Piper and Reyna. I think he was tired of third-wheeling." Percy had a small, uncomfortable grimace at the mention of his past relationship with Jason.

Nico couldn't help but sigh in relief. "For a moment I thought you were going to say you'd dated too."

Percy frowned way too seriously for the subject matter at hand. "No, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have been interested. And neither was I, really. But he's a nice guy; I'd say you can trust him. You know, if you need to."

"I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

He did keep Percy's advice in mind, and Leo helped him fit in with the others. He never asked questions about Bianca, Percy, or anyone else at camp, but Nico was pretty sure he'd seen him text Percy more often than was needed to guess their relationship. Maybe he was too intimidated to ask; or he respected Nico's privacy. Either way suited Nico perfectly.

Or so he thought, anyway, until a Skype call from came on Wednesday night, when Nico was home alone.

"This isn't your regular schedule," Nico teased as the blonde's face showed up on screen. He was still wearing his glasses, and Nico suddenly wondered if someone hadn't told him to keep them, because they looked  _really_  good on him. Ridiculously adorable, and kind of sexy, all at once.

"I know. Percy's not here, is he?"

Nico frowned. "No. Did something happen?"

"You tell me." Noticing Nico's blank look, he explained: "Leo said you were suddenly social at school. And Percy told me he was being held up with this group project, and I wondered if that was connected. He sounded  _really_  pissed off about it. Did you two have a fight?" His eyes darted around his screen, and Nico wondered if he was seriously scanning the background to make sure Nico was still in Percy's apartment.

"No, we didn't. I mean, yeah, I started hanging around at school because of Percy's project and—wait, do you seriously have a  _spy_  at my school?"

Jason laughed. "Pure coincidence, I assure you. You two aren't the only ones I keep in touch with. Unlike you, who wouldn't be bothered to call if I didn't do it myself, I might add."

Nico scoffed. "Anyway. I'm making friends, sure. I don't see how that makes sense. Percy agreed that it was probably a good thing."

Jason hummed. "I guess I imagined the angry part, then."

"I don't know. When did you talk to him?"

"On Monday, why?"

Nico sighed. "It could be because he met my mom the day before."

Jason fell silent, but another voice took over from behind. "Holy shit."

Nico rolled his eyes. "You know, Piper can actually come talk to me if she wants to."

The girl pushed herself next to Jason. "Hi, Nico. Been a while. So you really went with Percy to meet your mom? No offense, but if she threw you out, I don't think that's wise."

"She didn't throw me out, I  _left_. And it's not like we went just to introduce them to each other. I wanted to let her know about Florence—by the way, thanks about that." He realized he'd been so caught up with worrying about his mom that he hadn't asked Jason to thank her.

"No worries. So how did it go?"

"Terrible. But at least she said she didn't care, so I could go so long as your dad was paying." Hurriedly, he added, "He  _is_  paying, right? I wouldn't want to assume or—"

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine. So there really isn't anything wrong between Percy and you?"

Nico frowned. "No; we're fine."

"Okay, just checking. I'll leave you boys to talk about your feelings now or whatever it is you do. See you in Florence, Nico!"

She vanished as quickly as she'd appeared, but Jason paused before speaking again. "Are you okay, Nico?"

"What do you think?" He wasn't sure why he didn't try to keep up appearances for Jason like he did for anyone else—even Percy, to an extent. Maybe he just needed to talk. "My mom basically said she didn't care about me, and that I should be happy she's indifferent instead of violent. Among a few other things."

"Yeesh. She should meet my stepmom. They'd get along swimmingly."

Nico stared at him. "Really? Are you going to try and one-up me?"

Jason chuckled. "I wouldn't dare. I guess I'm just trying to say…I get it, man. It really hurts when the person who should love you unconditionally hates you instead. I wish I could tell you how to get over it, but—that's all I've got. Just don't do anything rash about it, okay? If anything's wrong, I'm pretty sure Percy can help you through it."

Nico raised an eyebrow; there was a story behind this, he was sure of it. "Dare I ask?"

"Try again when we're in Florence. It's the kind of things I'd rather not talk about over the Internet." Jason looked embarrassed—maybe Nico should drop it. But as if he heard his thoughts, Jason added: "I'm serious. Ask me. Better than to keep silent about it."

"Now you're just teasing me."

"Just promise me you'll talk to Percy if anything's wrong."

"You know, I didn't need you to tell me to do that."

"Good. Well, then…I should stop bothering you."

"You're not. You know that."

"Maybe. But now I also know that I can fish for compliments successfully with you, while Percy can't. And that is something you can bet I'll commit to memory. Talk to you soon."

He ended the call with a large grin, before Nico could retort anything, but just in time as Percy was coming back.

"Was that Jason? What's going on?"

"Nothing. Just checking on us one extra time because he was extra worried."

Percy chuckled. "I guess there's plenty of reasons to be worried. Who leaked the news to him about Sunday?"

"You did. Well, indirectly. Enough for him to worry, anyway."

"But you told him?"

"Yeah. Why, is there a problem with that?"

"No. I'm glad you did. I wasn't sure if you'd be okay with me talking about it."

Nico stood up to greet him with a kiss. "And I'm grateful for you being like that. So how are you, anyway? I guess things are still not over with that project of yours?"

"Tell me about it." Percy grimaced, and started ranting about TAs who didn't realize that maybe he had a life, annoying and incapable students, and asshole professors. Nothing out of the ordinary, really, and Nico half-listened as they headed to bed.

"I'm sorry, I'm just boring you with my problems," Percy eventually said.

"You're not," Nico automatically objected. Then, seeing his face: "Well, okay, you're boring me a little, but it's okay. You can vent to me; you've earned that much."

Percy chuckled. "Thanks. I think. Unless that was self-deprecation in disguise again; then I have to disagree on principle."

Nico kissed him. "You  _would_. But it wasn't. And you're welcome."

* * *

On Friday afternoon, Nico had been in the middle of a heated discussion with Leo and a girl named Eva on the merits of the Pluto extension of the card game compared to its video game incarnation, when Leo froze. Following his gaze, he saw Percy waiting for him on the sidewalk, a satisfied grin on his face.

"Hey! Percy!" Leo called out. "It's been a while. What're you doing here?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "We know you've been talking to Jason. Don't pretend. Eva," he said, turning to her, "this is Percy, my boyfriend." He was proud to have managed to say the words without any trace of nervousness in his voice. The girl's reaction was mildly surprised, but not much more than that—her older brother was gay, Nico knew. "Percy, this is Eva, she's in Mythomagic club with us."

"Nice to meet you."

There was an awkward silence. "So… what  _are_ you doing here?" Nico asked.

Percy's glance darted to the other two, making Leo laugh. "I get it. We'll leave you two alone."

"I'm finally done with that project, and there was enough time for me to be here on time to get you, so I thought I'd walk you home." 

There was a tension in his voice. "Is everything okay?"

"I just wanted to see you," Percy said, grabbing his hand and leading the way to the subway station. The sudden contact—and the publicity of it—surprised Nico, but he guessed he  _had_  just come out to two other students anyway, and he couldn't help but let himself be carried away by Percy's enthusiasm.

Percy hadn't gone straight to his school, Nico found out when he got back home. "Rose petals? Really?" They were scattered over the floor, leading the way to the bedroom.

Percy shrugged awkwardly. "Well, it  _is_  Valentine's Day, in case you missed it."

Nico had forgotten about it, actually. How could he not, he'd never even  _thought_  about it before except to wallow in self-pity. "You didn't abandon your group projects just for this, did you?"

Percy let out an indignant gasp. "Gee, thanks, Nico, it took a lot of work to get everything ready in time, I'm glad you appreciate it! And no, for your information, we finished the project last night."

Nico couldn't help but laugh at his theatrics. "It's lovely. But really, you didn't have to."

Percy pulled him in for a kiss. "Of course not. I wanted to. That's kind of the point."

"So what's at the end of the trail of petals?" Nico said, unable to keep a smile off his face.

"Not much, really." Percy's reply was almost embarrassed, and Nico understood why when he went to the bedroom. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but aside from the petals, there wasn't any difference Nico could notice. "As I said, it's not much. I just thought… you know, I wasn't there a lot this week, and you probably needed me now even more than before, so I just wanted to apologize and make myself available for the day. The petals were an afterthought."

Nico chuckled. "It's perfect," he said, pulling his boyfriend toward the bed. Percy let him, and didn't budge either when Nico slid his hands under his shirt and pulled it over his head.

"So, I guess we can finally have our second time now?" Percy said, grinning wide.

"It's only been almost a week." Nico wasn't able to keep all of his frustration from seeping into his voice. "Yeah, I think we can."

He kissed Percy again, then trailed kisses down his neck. "You're inspired," Percy noted amusedly. 

_You have no idea_ , Nico thought, but he ignored him, and continued his exploration of his boyfriend's body with lips and hands.

When he reached Percy's nipple and lingered there for a while, a soft gasp escaped Percy's lips and he finally started to be a little more active, shimmying out of his pants and underwear, then tugging at Nico's shirt. "Come on, you can keep going after this is out of the way."

Reluctantly, Nico complied and let Percy take off his shirt, then immediately resumed his work on Percy's other nipple as he groped his way out of his own pants. His clothes joined Percy's on a puddle on the floor, and Nico pushed them both on the bed.

Only then did he realize that Percy was pretty much letting him take charge, and he was oh so grateful for it, because being in charge felt  _incredible_. Any awkwardness at being naked in someone else's presence that may have lingered the first time was now gone, and Nico enjoyed the feeling of Percy's body hard and warm against his. And in this lying position, the possibilities of exploration suddenly felt endless. Almost like he could spend the entire afternoon doing nothing but kissing every inch of his skin.

Almost. He did managed to make it to the area aroundPercy's navel, where he was a little too distracted by the boy's erection to continue. He grabbed it in a hand, reveling in the shiver that coursed through Percy's body as he gave it a slow stroke.

He briefly considered going back up to kiss Percy on the lips, but there was something mesmerizing about hovering so close to the boy's dick and seeing the effect each movement of his hand had on Percy's entire body from up close. Nico felt like a ball of pure  _want_ : want for things he'd only imagined before, want for things he might not have imagined at all, want for new experiences, want for simply _more_.

He caught his boyfriend's gaze, held it for a moment, then tentatively lowered his head and kissed the base of Percy's cock. The boy's moan was encouragement as he worked his way up and mustered the courage to take him in his mouth. The overwhelming sensation that followed forced him to close his eyes, and for a moment, it felt like the entire world had shrunken down to being just this, just him and Percy, almost irrevocably intertwined.

Percy's moans turned into frustrated whimpers and Nico realized he'd frozen in place. That was simply unacceptable. He may be a novice at this, but he knew the basic mechanics. He started sucking, slowly taking in more of Percy in his mouth while he stroked him with one hand. With the other, he found his way up Percy's chest again. He didn't have a particular objective in mind, but when he brushed against Percy's nipple and felt his body tense, he tried with a mischievous grin to tease that area with a little more insistence.

He managed to surmount his feeling of  _too much_  long enough to open his eyes and look up at Percy, and what he saw was a worthy reward indeed. The boy's eyes were set on him, but with only a vaguely present stare. He looked like he was about to crumble into pieces, and knowing that Nico was responsible for that sent a thrill through Nico's body.

"Hang on, Nico, don't, or I'm gonna—" Percy's warning ended in a strangled cry, but Nico understood. And he ignored it, keeping a steady rhythm for just a few more moments before Percy tensed beneath him and saltiness and warmth flooded his sense of taste. The sensation was odd—that much he could admit—but it was nowhere near being disgusting like he'd sometimes pictured. He couldn't bring himself to swallow all of Percy's come, though, so he finally let go, wiping at his own mouth.

When he looked up at him, Percy's content expression was tinged with amusement and resignation. "You just  _had_  to do it, didn't you?" His voice sounded too hoarse to be a rebuke, and he gently pulled Nico up to kiss him deeply. "My turn now, then?" His tone was clearly a request for permission, and Nico gave a sharp nod, eliciting the brightest smile on Percy's lips. "Good. Lie back, and let me take care of everything."

Nico wasn't sure what he expected, but Percy seemed intent on mimicking all of his own actions, slowly trailing down Nico's body rather than going straight south. Nico had once read the phrase 'worshipping his body with his mouth', and that had to be it—Percy's expert hands and mouth didn't miss a single spot of Nico's body, finding the most sensitive ones on his sides, along his lower ribs, and teased, and teased again.

Nico could have given in and come from it, but he refused to. He felt like a survivor when Percy's hand settled around the base of his dick and his lips wrapped around the head.

And  _God_ , if Percy's hand had felt both alien and wonderful, this was magnifying the impression tenfold. Warm and wet and soft and firm, all at once. And as he looked down, he met Percy's satisfied glance. From his own earlier experience, he could easily guess what that was for—he doubted he looked any more dignified now than Percy had. Not that he cared.

He was almost disappointed when his orgasm came, far too quickly to his taste. He wished he could have warned Percy like he had, but it hit him with so much force and so suddenly that all he could do was cry out Percy's name as he fell over the edge.

He hadn't completely come down yet when Percy slithered up his body and softly kissed him. It took a moment for Nico to part his lips and accept him in his mouth, tasting a saltiness that matched the one lingering in his own mouth along with everything else that was Percy. And odd as it was, he loved it, loved how it seemed to prolong the sensations for a little longer somehow. Suddenly, Percy pulling him in for a kiss earlier before made a lot more sense.

Their kiss grew more lazy as Percy collapsed to Nico's side, forcing him to turn in a somewhat awkward position to follow, but he didn't care. It was as if, as long as there was something of each other in their mouth, this could go on forever. And he definitely wanted it to.

But it couldn't, of course, if only because he had to breathe at some point, especially right after an orgasm. When he finally let go, he nuzzled against Percy's chest, breathing in the scent of him, pressing their bodies together—in a way that had nothing to do with arousal anymore.

"So that happened," he heard Percy saying, bringing him back from reality, almost as if he'd woken up from a dream—but this had been very real.

"Yeah. That happened." Nico's neutral tone felt out of place right after everything that just happened, and he burst out laughing.

"Dude, are you okay?"

Nico pulled away to meet Nico's eyes. "Yeah. It's just—that  _happened_."

Percy's smile was all Nico needed to know he understood. "I didn't think you'd take the initiative like that." He chuckled. "I like it."

"Yeah, I gathered," Nico said with a grin. "I guess I was… how did you put it? Inspired?"

Percy laughed softly. "Well, if you're ever inspired again, feel free to let me know."

"Implying you're never going to take the lead?"

"Not when it's about you doing something new, I won't. It's gotta be your decision."

Nico nodded. "I guess I can respect that."

"You'd better. It's for your own sake."

Nico decided to ignore the implications—the small reminder of their age difference, of the carefulness it imposed on Percy. Instead, he kissed him, and as they parted, whispered: "Thank you."

"My pleasure."

"Not just yours, trust me. And happy Valentine's day, too."

" _Very_  happy now."

Nico laid his head back on the pillow, wondering about it. Happy? Yes, he supposed he was now. His life wasn't perfect, but he liked what he had. That, too, was a first.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay since last chapter. BOO and real life got in the way. Also I just want to point out that me describing Jason with glasses in this fic is a complete coincidence and I did not actually see the future (or read the book before its release).

From Valentine's Day, it was only three more weeks until spring break—well, for Percy, anyway. Nico would have to skip school for a few days. He was lucky enough that Eva-from-Mythomagic-club's older sister was a doctor, and had agreed with an indulgent smile to cover up for him.

A few weeks were more than enough for Nico and Percy to get ready, considering they didn't need to plan for much—mostly just clothes and personal items. Nico had to go back by his mom's apartment—he couldn't even think of it as his own anymore—to grab lighter clothes, and was surprised to find that Maria was out. Even stranger, she'd gone out with her briefcase, almost as if she'd gone back to work. Almost as if his departure had been the one thing she needed to recover, he thought bitterly.

But bitterness couldn't last in Nico's life, not when everything was going so swimmingly. He had friends at school—who let him reconnect with what had once been his favorite game—and Percy at home. And the even more frequent calls from Jason online, who seemed to be as restless as they were here in New York.

"I can't believe it's so _close_ ," he told Nico the week before they were leaving. He was always wearing his glasses nowadays when he called—Nico wondered why, but he couldn't help but be appreciative. He had a tendency to be careless about the way they rested on his nose, though, and Nico wished he could reach through the screen and straighten them. "Oh, by the way, did you get your plane tickets yet? Pipes asked me to check."

"Um—yeah, why?"

"What flight does it say? Just humor me."

Nico frowned, but Percy went to get them, and read the number aloud to Jason.

"I knew it. When I saw we first flew to New York, I knew it. We're on the same flight!"

"Oh, sweet!" Percy's fists pumping in the air would have fit more from a much younger boy, but Nico couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

"At least I'm not going to have to suffer through the entire flight alone with you," he teased.

"Oh _really_?"

"That would have been quite the ordeal," Jason chimed in, smirking.

"Hey, not cool! Don't team up against me."

Jason's chuckle turned into a strangled sound. "Don't tempt me. Anyway, I've gotta go. See you soon!"

Percy clapped his laptop shut and turned back to Nico. "'Suffer through the flight', huh?"

"Are you seriously going to get mad at me for that?"

"Define 'mad'," Percy said, pulling Nico closer for a kiss. "Is this hard to 'suffer', too?"

Nico chuckled, but managed to keep a deadpan tone. "Terrible. I don't know how I do it."

* * *

The week went by, and it was finally time to leave. The only perturbation to their plans was Nico's mom texting him to know when he'd be back—which he answered, albeit reluctantly and at Percy's insistence. Nico felt like it was a bad omen, and as they went through check-in and customs, he kept expecting something to go wrong.

But nothing did, and when they reached the terminal and found a familiar trio waiting for them, his worries melted away to give way to excitement. Before Nico knew it, Percy was lost in a group hug with Jason, Piper and Reyna, leaving Nico to stand awkwardly—that is, until Jason let go, pulled him in a bear hug of his own.

"Man, I missed you."

"We were talking on Skype _last night_ ," Nico teased, but he had to admit the feeling was mutual.

"So is anyone else coming?"

"Nope," Piper said. "Annabeth can't make it, she got an internship with one of her professors. It sounded like a big deal. Rachel's already there, because she can afford coming on her own, and Thalia's mom wouldn't let her come along." Jason groaned at that last remark—Thalia's mom was his stepmom, if Nico remembered correctly, and their relationship was more than a little rocky.

Nico was a little surprised that that was all, though. He raked his memory to find who else they'd been close to, back at Camp Half-Blood. The twins, Luke and Octavian, he could understand they weren't invited. Which left… "Grover."

He hadn't realized he said the name out loud, but apparently only Jason had heard him, and judging by the look on his face, Grover not being invited was no coincidence. Nico decided to ask him about it later, although he could already guess why.

Nico and Percy had come to the airport a couple hours early just so they could meet with the others, and they sat down at the McDonalds in the airport to catch up on… well, everything. Piper was taking on a double major in communication and political science on top of being pushed by her dad to try and act or model, and she had plenty of stories to share about a congressman she shadowed for a few days as part of a group project. Reyna had taken a one-year sabbatical of sorts before she entered an officer school in Georgia, meaning this would probably be her last vacation with the group in a long while.

Jason was the least enthusiastic of the three, actually. His long-term plan was to be a lawyer, Nico knew that much, but when Jason off-handedly mentioned his dad, Nico learned that _he_ was a lawyer too, and he might have had a big influence on Jason's decision.

Between their tales of college and Percy's, Nico felt suddenly isolated, unsure if his high school shenanigans would interest them. They made a point in including them in the conversation, though, and he was grateful for that. And they could only speak of college for so long before moving on to other topics.

By the time they boarded the plane, Nico felt like they were back in their dynamic from last summer. It was an odd thought—too closely associated with Bianca's memory to sit well with Nico—and yet he couldn't help but enjoy it. He sat between Jason and Percy, the former sitting next to the window, and even when they both fell asleep a couple hours later—both awkwardly resting their heads on his shoulders—it still felt comfortable in a way Nico hadn't been in a long time. Not that he hadn't been comfortable with Percy alone, but there was something easier about being in a group of friends, rather than alone with someone.

He eventually dozed off himself, only to be woken up just before landing. That left him with the task of waking up both Percy and Jason, which was no small feat, then to find Jason's glasses, which had fallen at some point while they slept. He found them miraculously intact on Percy's seat, inches from being sat upon.

"You know, if you want to touch my butt, you have permission. No need for excuses," Percy teased as Nico reached for the glasses.

Nico glared at him, but he couldn't help smirking back, too. "Duly noted."

* * *

As an Italian citizen, Nico took a lot less time at customs than the others did, which left him alone for a while in the hall of arrivals of the _Aeroporti di Roma_ —they'd had to fly to Rome, since no flight went straight from the States to the airport in Florence. A feeling of nostalgia threatened to overwhelm him at the familiar sights—the language, of course, but also the airport itself. The last time he'd been here was with his mother and Bianca, before they moved to New Orleans.

The others eventually caught up with him, they picked up their luggage, and were on their way out.

One of Piper's dad's employees, a woman named Drew, waited for them outside of the airport, and hurried them to a Jeep, where her dad himself was waiting—incognito, wearing sunglasses, even though the vehicle had tinted glass windows.

"Piper, sweetie!" he called out as she entered the Jeep. "I'm so glad to see you! And good morning, Piper's friends! Welcome to Italy!"

Nico wondered if the Italian accent was purely fake or if he was just playing a role with such an accent and he kept it up even when he wasn't shooting. Either way, it was a little ridiculous, but he did sound genuinely happy to meet them all. A small part of Nico wondered why he had to be the one stuck with the absolutely terrible parent, but he shoved the thought down. He was here for a week. He'd better enjoy it—and thinking about his mom would ruin that.

* * *

Nico fell asleep again during the three-hour drive to Florence, but as he told Percy when he woke up, he didn't mind missing on the scenery. He remembered it well enough—it hadn't been so long since he lived here, after all, and his mom had been on the road a lot back then.

They stopped at Tristan's residence, which could only be referred to as a villa, in the Tuscany countryside. It wasn't far from Florence—so Nico was told, anyway—but he couldn't have said so by looking around. The villa was in the middle of a vineyard,  and in every direction, Nico could barely see anything but sunny hills covered in plants burgeoning in the early spring.

The house itself was just what one would expect as the residence of a Hollywood A-lister. It was Roman villa that had been renovated a lot over the centuries, according to Piper, and the building still had the same rough layout. It was build out of thick bricks, painted in light pastel colors to reflect sunlight and keep the house cool, but the roofs were covered with solar panels.

"Come on, I'll show you around!" Piper said.

"You can just leave your luggage to Drew," Tristan added as the others were waiting awkwardly near the Jeep. "She'll take care of everything."

Nico exchanged a look with Percy, who shrugged and followed Piper inside.

* * *

The house had, unsurprisingly, everything someone could dream of for comfort. The air conditioning was off, still unnecessary at this time of the year; there was a television room with more couches than there was of them and a giant mounted screen on the wall; a fully equipped kitchen and dining room; and an entire wing with more rooms for entertainment that they didn't even visit, but from what Nico gathered, included another TV room and a fitness center, among others.

However, Piper had decided that would wait for later. They had a light dinner—mostly fresh fruit and Italian hams, along with the characteristic Tuscan salt-less bread, of which Nico was _not_ a fan. But the rest was excellent, and it was more than enough.

After dinner, Piper called on Drew to show everyone to their rooms, adding with a bright smile that they had five minutes to be by the pool in their swimsuits before vanishing upstairs.

Nico wasn't sure why they'd bothered giving each of them their own room, but he wasn't going to complain about it. He took his time unpacking before he changed, and was the last to arrive by the pool. It was located on the other side from where they'd arrived, south from the house proper to ensure it was always in the sun. The ground around it was tiled, and the pool was surrounded with various colorful flowers. Nico only recognized lavender, but he knew their purpose was to keep insects at bay.

He'd once owned a pool like this—well, his mom had, and it wasn't anywhere near as large. This one wouldn't have looked out of place in a small hotel, arranged in three vast sections connected by smaller ones, with a small 'island' in the center that could be reached by bridges. That was where Piper had chosen to lie on a long chair, while Jason, Nico and Reyna were already in the water.

As a result, the former was the first to notice him."Nico!" she singsonged. "I hadn't noticed you'd grown up so much!"

Nico nearly stumbled at the compliment. Before he could say anything, he noticed Percy's proud grin—as well as a sneakier one from Jason. He knew he'd grown, of course, and he wasn't as meager as he used to, but he still couldn't help but feel like they were overdoing it.

"He's already got a boyfriend, Piper," Reyna chided. "You can stop treating him as your pet project." Turning to him, she added, "We were thinking of playing water polo. I don't want either of these slobs; I know they suck. How'd you feel about joining my team?"

Nico chuckled at the quip—and Percy's indignant cry that followed. "I can't promise you I'll be better," he said as he cautiously walked into the water, "but okay." He expected to be shocked by the temperature, but the water felt more refreshing than cold. Nothing like his past experiences in swimming pools in Tuscany at this time of the year. Was it _heated_? Seriously? That was a little excessive.

He joined Reyna on the other side of the pool. "Just follow my lead," she said, "and you'll do nicely."

To call what they played 'water polo' would probably have been an insult to the actual sport, but it was fun nonetheless. Reyna placed Nico at her back to compensate for his shorter stature, and together, they managed to overwhelm the boys' game, which seemed to be made of teamwork and rivalry in equal parts. When Jason and Percy both lurched after the ball and rammed into each other, Piper declared it was game over—which was for the best, because Nico doubted either he or Reyna could have stopped laughing long enough to keep playing.

"We make a pretty good team," she told him.

"Yeah," he said. "I guess we do. Thanks for that."

"So, wanna race me?"

Nico let out a soft groan, but her enthusiasm was contagious, and he found himself swimming after her—with Percy quickly catching up on him, although Reyna still kept her head start long enough to win the improvised race.

* * *

After dinner, when they were all gathered in the television room playing video games, Piper announced she'd planned a trip to Florence in two days' time, to give them some more time the next day to get over jet lag. Jason and Reyna scoffed that they didn't feel like playing tourists, but Piper wouldn't budge on this, so they caved in eventually, shortly before they went to bed.

Having a bedroom all to himself felt unfamiliar after a month of sleeping next to Percy, but it was nice, too. He fell asleep almost immediately, but found himself awake only a few hours later. _That would be the sleep I got in the Jeep_.

Frustrated, he got out of the bedroom, only to find the door opposite of his—Percy's room—open and a faint light coming from it.

"Percy?" he called out quietly as he came in.

His boyfriend was on his bed, curled up with his head resting on his knees. He looked up, surprised, when Nico repeated his name. "Oh. Hi."

"What's going on?"

"Couldn't sleep."

He hadn't slept at all, by the look on his face. Nico still remembered how Percy had slept during his first night at his apartment; how restless he'd been then. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's the first time you're not here, and—I guess you were a bigger help than I thought."

"I could just stay. I don't think anyone would mind."

There was something heart-wrenchingly pathetic about Percy's grateful smile. "Yeah. Thanks."

Nico walked up to the desk lamp that had caught his attention and turned it off, then groped his way to Percy's bed and settled on it. "Come here." As soon as he said the words, Percy nuzzled closely against his chest. "I love you," Nico said as he wrapped an arm tightly around his boyfriend's back.

He wasn't sure why he'd said it, but it seemed to work, and Percy soon relaxed against him. He was asleep moments later, and Nico drifted off too, eventually.


	16. Chapter 16

Percy slept like a rock, and Nico left him late next morning, bored out of his mind even if lying next to his boyfriend was nice. He'd had more than enough sleep for now.

When he came downstairs, he found Jason alone in the kitchen, brewing coffee for himself.

"'Morning," Nico called. "Where are the girls?"

"They shut me out. It happens." He didn't seem particularly bothered by it. "Don't expect to see them until lunch time, at least."

"Yeah, I don't think Percy's waking up any time soon either."

Jason smirked. "Tire him out, did you?"

Nico blushed harder than he'd expected. "No, he couldn't sleep. Until I joined him. But we didn't—"

"Oh. Um, do you want some coffee?" Nico declined, and went to make himself hot chocolate instead while Jason continued. "I didn't know he was still that bad."

"Me neither. He'd gotten better since I moved in."

"He's lucky to have you, then." A faint smile hovered on his lips as he sat down at the kitchen table. "Sit. This is going to be awkward, but I have to ask. Is it too late to give you the talk?"

Nico stared at him, incredulous. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." Jason's look was unwavering.

"I—obviously my mom didn't tell me much, but I've picked up a lot from the Internet, and I think I can—"

Jason cut off his rambling. "I just want to know if you're being safe. Using protection. Did he help you pick it up, or—?"

Nico stared blankly for a moment until he understood. "Um—well, we aren't there yet. And why would he help _me_? I'm pretty sure Percy can buy condoms."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "By not there yet, you mean sex in general or just anal?"

Part of Nico felt like he wanted to die—and Jason hadn't even been particularly crude. But the concern in his voice had a strange way of putting Nico at ease, and that was the only thing that kept him talking. "No, we have had sex. Just not…anal…yet."

"Do you want to? Not just now, but eventually. Some guys aren't into it at all, you shouldn't make the decision just because it's what people do in porn."

"I—well I'd like to try, anyway. But you didn't answer me. Why would Percy help _me_ buy condoms?"

"Well, it's just that if—or when—you get there, I feel like you'd need them more than he would. And I speak from experience." Nico remained speechless—at Jason's frank mention of his past relationship with Percy, and at his implications regarding Percy's preference. He seemed to take it the wrong way, and added hurriedly, "Of course I'm sure he'll agree to try whatever you want to try with him. It's just a preference."

"I just never really considered it." Well, okay, he'd fantasized about it a few times—a _lot_ —but never more than that.

"If you want—I could come with you buy some. That way, you're not making a commitment with Percy, but you're still at least capable of finding out what you need."

Nico let out a deep breath at the offer. Feeling relieved was weird, considering he hadn't even consciously worried about it, but he still did. "Yeah, that'd be great."

"Okay. Tomorrow, when we're in the city? We'll just need an excuse to get away from the others for a while."

"Sure, why not?"

Nico remained silent after that, drinking from his hot chocolate as an excuse, and Jason went to pick up a bag of baked goods that Drew had gotten them earlier this morning for breakfast. He offered Nico to pick some, and took a croissant for himself. As they ate, a nagging came from the back of Nico's mind.

"So, now that the topic is on the table—can I ask you for advice?"

"Advice about what?"

"About Percy." Jason stared at him for a moment, and Nico felt the need to elaborate. "I mean, sexually? For instance, does he really like it—"

It took him a while to finish his question, but once he got started—and got Jason answering—he felt like he couldn't stop. Questions made way to comparing notes, and when Reyna came downstairs, she found them laughing so hard she looked genuinely concerned about their sanity.

* * *

Percy and Piper didn't join them until well into the afternoon, so they didn't wait for them to gather around the pool. There was a comfortable silence hanging between them as they lounged in the sun, only interrupted when Jason challenged Reyna to find out who could jump the furthest by jumping into the water.

Nico agreed too play judge, until Reyna dragged him out to see what he could do. His performance was the least impressive of the three, but nothing to be ashamed at—especially when compared to athletic types like those two.

The rest of the day went by the same way, alternating between laziness and sudden hyperactivity, and when Nico curled into bed next to Percy, after getting one phenomenal thank-you blowjob for, in his words, 'abandoning the comfort of your own room to help me sleep', he was exhausted, but content. Happy, even.

Percy didn't turn off the lamps straight away after he was done, his eyes tracing Nico's body in the glow. "You tan really fast," he let out.

Nico frowned and followed Percy's gaze, and saw he was right—it was particularly visible at the tan lines left by his swimming trunks. Now that it was news to Nico. "My dad was from Naples. I got it from him."

"I like it. You always looked so pale, even at camp…this suits you better." Percy's adoring eyes weren't leaving him, his gaze locked with Nico's.

"Thanks. Although I'm pretty sure it implies I look bad most of the time."

"Never." He closed the distance to kiss Nico.

"Go to sleep, Percy. Piper wants us up early tomorrow to go in the city."

* * *

In the end, regardless of how early Piper wanted them to be up, they were only in Florence by noon. Piper borrowed her dad's Jeep, and led them to a private parking garage—also her dad's—near the Arno river. From there, she led them with an air of utter determination.

They reached the _Ponte Vecchio_ , the old bridge Nico remembered from his one visit of the city. Buildings were built on the bridge, housing shops—mostly jewelers and souvenir sellers. Nico expected Piper to lead them on the bridge, but she walked past it with barely a glance. She turned left soon afterwards, under a series of arches, walking away from the river. 

Nico recognized the place almost instantly. Both sides of the streets were decorated with a series of statues, separated by more arches leading the way into a museum, but Piper ignored that too. On the other end of the street, they reached a vast square—the _Piazza della Signoria_.

"Skipping straight to the big landmark?" he couldn't help but tell Piper, with a hint of sarcasm. "Aren't you afraid we'll lose interest in the rest?"

She shrugged. "I'm not planning on touring the entire city with you, just a few places. Besides, I have a reservation." She paused for a little, though, noticing Jason, Reyna and Percy admiring the statues standing in an open gallery to their left.

"That one's Perseus," Nico said, nodding at a statue of the hero holding Medusa's severed head. "I believe you're named after him?" he teased Percy, who nudged him with an elbow.

"Show-off."

Piper pushed them to move past the gallery and towards one of the restaurants bordering the square, where she'd booked a table on the terrace—which was just a portion of the piazza itself. Nico exchanged a few words in Italian with the waiter to help with a question Jason had, and immediately earned a pleased expression from the man—and a weirdly impressed one from his friends, even though they all knew he was Italian. Piper pointed out a few more of the statues as they ate—Percy was particularly fond of the fountain of Neptune, unsurprisingly—but for the most part they didn't speak much as they ate. Nico felt more than a little proud when Percy and Jason praised him for more or less forcing them to try out Italian pizza, though.

* * *

They wandered around the piazza some more after eating, resting under the shade of the open gallery, and Piper suggested they should go inside the palace that bordered the square—the _palazzo vecchio_ , which had been turned into a museum.

Nico groaned at the prospect of visiting it again—he hadn't been fond of it the first time. "I think I'll sit this one out," he said.

Jason came to his rescue before Piper could protest. "I'll stay with you, if you want. I'm not sure I really want to visit a museum right now. Besides, I doubt it's as interesting as what's out here." Nico frowned at his poor excuse. "Nico can show me around some more while you're in there. We'll be fine; he can translate for us."

Piper glared, but she shrugged. "Okay. See you later. Are you guys coming?" There was something unspoken in the way she said 'see you later'—something along the lines of 'you'll owe me for this'. Nico almost expected Percy to get out too, but he didn't. Maybe he didn't want to have to face Piper's inevitable wrath.

When they were alone, Jason smiled down at him. "So, it's just the two of us. Do you think you're ready for—" He looked around at the tourists, as if to wonder if they spoke English.

Nico couldn't help but chuckle at his discomfort. "Why not?" He had agreed to this, after all.

Finding a general store was a little more complicated than planned, considering neither of them knew the city. They did stumble across a vending machine selling condoms outside of a pharmacy, but neither of them could really make sense of it, so they entered the store instead. There, Jason gave Nico a somewhat embarrassing lesson, especially considering Nico had never measured his own dick before. It took them an awfully long time—or at least so it felt to Nico—but they came out with what they wanted, plus extra lube at Jason's recommendation, and they still had plenty of time to hang around the _Piazza della Signoria_ before the others came back.

* * *

Piper took them to a few more landmarks—and yes, the _Ponte Vecchio_ and its stores were part of her plans—but eventually they just hung out in the city, wandering around to just see the place. Nico had missed Italian cities: the buildings, so different from those in New York in style and colors, the narrow streets and even the obnoxious drivers, the multitude of bikes and _vespas_. Even the air felt different.

They were still there when evening came, and they agreed to find another restaurant for dinner. Nobody wanted to go back to the house just yet, so they hung by the Arno river for a little while longer. It was only when Percy and Jason, buzzed after what they'd drunk over dinner, challenged each other, leading to Percy almost falling into the river if Nico and Reyna hadn't rushed to stop him, that they decided it was time to head back.

Percy headed straight for bed when they arrived, and Jason took Nico to the first floor bathroom to privately hand him their purchase from earlier.

"Thanks for offering to help me," Nico said. "I'm not sure I'll use them, but—thanks."

"You're welcome. And don't feel rushed. It's something you need to really want to do, especially for your first time. Even if you top."

Nico nodded, and they headed out, joining the girls to watch a movie. A few hours later, when Nico came up to go to bed, he found Percy sound asleep in his room. Rather than risking to wake him up, he headed out and towards his own bedroom. For all the comfort and the extra space, he couldn't help but feel like Percy's presence by his side was missing, but he fell asleep quickly anyway.

* * *

It took Nico three more days to manage to get Percy alone and conscious in private. To be fair, it wasn't like Nico was actively trying, since he also wanted to get as much out of the villa as possible before they left—both the pool and the inside facilities. Rachel visiting from her own "residence" for a few days (she hadn't been more specific as to what she meant by that word) only added to the constant state of blissful chaos they were all in. But as a result, they were exhausted every night when they finally left the others to go to bed.

One evening, however, they'd all gone to a pizzeria in a small, nearby village, and after coming home, had found themselves surprised by the warmth of the evening, unusual at this time of the year. Piper had turned on the outside lights—which included a network of neon lights connected to electrified cages to take care of nocturnal bugs—and they'd enjoyed the evening in the swimming pool. One macho contest later, Jason and Percy were daring each other to go skinny dipping, but they were eventually brought back to reason, and the evening went mostly normally after that.

The cold inevitable caught up to them, though, and they were forced to go back inside, everyone retreating to their rooms to shower and change out of their swimsuits. When Nico emerged from his shower, though, he wasn't alone in the bedroom: Percy was there, completely naked and still dripping with water. He hadn't even bothered wearing a towel.

"Hey," Percy said. "I figured it would be okay with you if we let them wait for us for a while."

He was half-hard, the skin of his cheeks and chest flushed—if Nico guessed correctly, he'd already gone solo in the shower. The sight of him made Nico's mouth water. "And you couldn't even wait long enough to dry yourself?" he teased.

"I wanted to be sure you'd still be there."

"Well, I am." The words came breathless, even as Nico resisted all impulses to stand right where he was, keeping his towel secured around his waist in a vain attempt to hide his growing erection, waiting for Percy to close the distance.

He didn't have to wait at all, and under Percy's kiss, he couldn't help but tangle his hands in the boy's curls, letting the towel drop to the floor.

"Wait," he whispered as Percy let go of him and dropped on his knees. His boyfriend looked up, curious and impatient. "I'd like to try s—" He'd been about to say _something new_ , but he remembered what Jason had told him. If he couldn't say the word, he probably wasn't ready. But he guessed it couldn't hurt to try and make it sound sexier. "I'd like to try fucking you." There. No ambiguity, either.

Percy's eyes widened, and he gulped visibly as he stood back up. "Are you sure? And—I mean—I don't have—"

"I came equipped," Nico said, a proud grin on his face. He pushed Percy on the bed, then reached for the drawer next to it, pulling out the condoms and the lube. "If you're up for it?"

"I'm the one who should be asking you that, but apparently you've made your mind. Yes, I'm _definitely_ up for it."

"You—" Nico breathed in deeply, trying to get a hold of his nerves. "You'll have to guide me."

Percy nodded deeply. "I wouldn't have it any other way." But he pulled Nico in for a kiss, and for a moment, Nico forgot about his plan. "Okay," Percy said when he finally let go, "you'll have to prep me first. Unless you'd rather I do it?"

Nico wasn't sure what to say. "What would _you_ prefer?"

"That you do it. But I won't force you if you don't want to."

Steeling himself, Nico said, "I can do it."

"I wouldn't ever doubt it. So, let's see—first you'll want to lube up your fingers. Be generous," he added as he observed Nico pour a small amount of the cold liquid over his fingers. "Okay. Here, help me—"

They fumbled for a moment trying to find the right position for Percy to set his legs and Nico to pin them in place, stretching him and presenting his ass to Nico.

"You'll want to put some more lube on it, and then…go in. Take it slow, one finger at a time. It's been a while."

Nico poured as instructed, watching as a shivers coursed on Percy's skin at the coldness of the contact, then he froze, his hand hovering right above his ass. It took him yet another deep breath, but he finally reached forward, inserting his index finger in Percy's hole. He couldn't have gone fast even if he'd wanted to—this was just too new, he had to take his time, transfixed by the sensations and the sight of Percy, whose breaths were deepening as Nico slowly pushed inside.

"Is that okay?"

"Yeah. Just move in and out. I think you can add another finger, too." 

Nico had to pull out completely to do so, tearing a small gasp out of Percy, turning into a soft moan as he came back in with two fingers. Nico had flipped his hand over, and when his fingers were fully inside, he crooked them, prodding tentatively. Percy's moan and the sudden arcing of his back let him know he'd found the boy's prostate, but Nico immediately let it go, pulling his fingers out again, before coming back, sometimes teasing, sometimes leaving immediately again.

"Oh God, seriously?" Percy whined. He was panting now. "Who taught you to do that?"

Nico chuckled. "I have my sources." That particular idea had come from Jason, but he'd rather not bring him up—not right now, anyway.

A third finger joined the other two, and by this time, Percy was positively _writhing_ under his fingers, his cock leaking even though Nico hadn't even touched it. "Do you think you're prepared enough?"

" _God yes_ ", was all Percy said.

Nico was pretty sure he was beyond words, now, but Nico didn't think he needed to know what came next. Still, when he unwrapped the condom, Percy muttered "Pinch the tip" without bothering to explain—but Nico did it anyway, hoping he wasn't messing it up.

He only realized how much he was aroused himself as he rolled the condom over his own dick, the sudden touch sending fire through his body. At Percy's laconic command ("More lube"), he poured lubricant over his hand, then stroke himself—once, then, noticing Percy's hungry look, a few more times, just for good measure.

"Come _on_ ," Percy said.

Nico chuckled as he settled himself between Percy's legs, holding his own dick firmly with one hand and guiding it towards Percy's ass, then finally, slowly pushing in.

The only way Nico could describe it was "different". He wasn't sure he could say "better", although perhaps it was, but the deluge of sensations—the hot tightness around his dick, the lingering cold wetness on his hands, the feeling of Percy's body everywhere close to him, of his hands grabbing Nico's shoulders, their eyes interlocked—was almost too much. Nico had to stop to prevent himself from coming straight away, and he was barely halfway in.

Painfully slowly, he kept going, letting Percy adjust to the feeling. Then backwards—too much, and suddenly he was out again, cold flooding his skin and Percy giving out a tiny whimper. He guided himself in, with each movement more secure, learning the right way to bend his hips, the right angles to send stars across Percy's eyes and to make his hands tighten on Nico's ribs. He'd probably have marks there later, but he didn't care.

Percy wrapped his legs behind Nico's back, guiding his pace, then pulled him down for a kiss. But that was too much—and at the same time, Nico felt blinded as he closed his eyes. He could live without kissing Percy right now: the sight of him falling apart was much more enticing anyway. And yet, he couldn't resist bending down again to kiss Percy's collarbone with newfound hunger, sucking on the tender skin as Percy practically purred against his ear.

A wicked instinct made him rest his weight on one hand, as he moved the other to stroke Percy in rhythm with his own movement, and his boyfriend cried out in response, calling out his name. The most beautiful sound Nico had ever heard.

Percy came soon, loudly, and Nico didn't stop moving his hands or his hips through the boy's orgasm, pushing him further and further along the edge. He felt as Percy's ass clenched around him reflexively, and a combination of all those sensations sent him over the edge as well, collapsing with a wordless cry on Percy's wet, sticky chest. He didn't even care about that.

He could have laid there forever, if Percy didn't ask him—almost timidly—to pull out. Percy had him tie the condom and throw it in the garbage bin, but after that, he fell back on the boy's chest, resting his head over Percy's heart. If he closed his eyes, he could almost convince himself their heartbeats were synchronized.

"Another first off the list, huh?" Percy asked eventually, his voice hoarse.

"Yeah. Another success, too." Percy chuckled, each vibration sending chills through Nico's entire body. "I wish we could just stay here. Forever."

"Yeah, but are you sure you don't want a shower first?"

Percy's question came with a tired, content grin, and Nico had to reluctantly nod in answer. "I guess it would be nice."

They showered together in the bathroom next to Nico's bedroom, and dried themselves (somewhat) with Nico's still wet towel. They vaguely considered going downstairs to meet the others, then decided against it. They discarded the bedspread on Nico's bed, now sticky with come and sweat, and slid into it without bothering to get dressed, cuddling to sleep.

* * *

Nothing had really changed the next morning, Nico realized. Well, except for Reyna gentling teasing him about being loud the night before—which got worse when Jason pointed out Percy's hickey. But Nico didn't feel as different as he'd expected. It had been a great moment, and he was looking forward to a next time—or, who knows, reversing the roles sometime?—but right now, it was enough.

What _wasn't_ enough was the few more days left in Italy. Between the days spent lazily by the pool and the one time they went back to Florence to just hand around, the rest of the week flew by fast, _too_ fast, almost in a flash. The happiest week of Nico's life in a long time, and it was over before he knew it, as most unforgettable moments often did.

They still had one last flight together, from Rome to New York, and since they took off in the morning, they made the most of it. They had breakfast at the airport, enjoying one last meal together, before boarding the plane. None of them slept through the flight, but still, they weren't exactly free of their movements—nor were they free to bother the other passengers—and after the time at the villa, it was almost disappointing. Almost.

The nail in their vacation's coffin came as they had just picked up their luggage. They were still in the terminal, trying to force themselves to say goodbye but not quite capable of doing so, when two men in uniforms walked up to their group.

"Percy Jackson?" one of them said. His voice was mostly controlled, but the other man had a visible look of disgust on his face.

Percy stared at them in confusion. "Yes?"

"You're under charges of kidnapping and statutory rape. Come with me, please."

Nico froze at his words, the rest of his speech washing over him. Some distance away, behind the men, he saw his mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to congratulate AzarathianRune7 for guessing my plot twist. And sorry to everyone else for the feels :P


	17. Chapter 17

The officer's words rang in Nico's ears, incapable of processing them to a meaning that made sense to his brain.

That wasn't possible. That wasn't _happening_.

The hardest part was Percy's reaction. He nodded, calmly, almost as if he'd expected this. Maybe he had. They'd both known the chance they were taking—and who was risking the most—all along. But he followed them without even casting a glance back at Nico, like he wasn't even there.

Was Percy angry? Defeated? Accepting? Sad? Indignant? Nico couldn't tell because his boyfriend wouldn't look at him. Was it just a ploy to make it look like their relationship wasn't that deep, like Percy didn't know why he was accused? Nico didn't picture Percy as capable of such quick thinking, but he could be wrong.

He remained paralyzed as Piper protested to one of the officers, who only gave monosyllabic answers, and left with barely a look at the rest of them. Nico's mom followed, with barely a look to her son. She could have been another traveler coming home.

"That doesn't strike me as a regular arrest," Reyna whispered next to him. To Jason. Why to Jason?

"My mom was there," Nico mumbled. He couldn't manage to speak more clearly, but the others heard him, and stared at him.

"I'll see what I can do," Jason said, before walking away, pulling his phone from his pocket.

Piper came back alone, looking exhausted—if the clamor Nico had heard and the disheveled state of her hair were any indication, she had been pretty vehement with the policemen. A glance towards Jason, who was talking on the phone and getting visibly upset, somehow seemed to soothe her.

"I don't get it. Since when do police officers come to wait for travelers in the terminal?"

"That's what I thought, too," Reyna said. She turned to Nico. "You said your mom was there? Do you think she could have pulled some strings?"

Nico shrugged. "I don't know. She's a diplomat, so… maybe?"

"Thought so. And considering your situation with her—"

"You think my mom had him arrested?" Nico's reaction had been more reflexive than anything—if he was honest to himself, he'd had the exact same thought when he'd seen her. And judging by the way she'd left, she obviously hadn't come for Nico. "But—she can't just do that! And they said kidnapping, so why didn't they also ask me to come with them too?"

Reyna shrugged. "This is already far from the regular protocol, so I don't really have a clue. Hopefully Jason can get us some help."

As if summoned by her words, Jason came back to them, putting his phone away and looking grimmer than before. "I'll be staying in New York for a while."

Nico stared at him, puzzled. "But—don't you have to go back to college?"

"I don't care. I'll be staying with my dad. He's going to help." He turned to Piper and Reyna. "You two should head back, though."

Piper nodded slowly, with an understanding Nico wasn't sure he shared, and hugged him. "I'll miss you."

"Tell your dad I'm sorry I'm wasting the plane ticket."

She scoffed. "He won't even notice. Good luck."

Reyna didn't move, however. "I don't have a college to go back to. You need me here." She didn't even turn to look at Piper, but the other girl nodded with enthusiasm, and neither Jason nor Nico argued with her.

Piper left on her own, after some drawn-out goodbyes, promising to settle things with the airline for them—although their luggage was probably on its way already—and the three of them made their way out of the airport.

"Where are we going?" Nico asked. It was easier than asking what they would _do_ , because at this moment, he wasn't sure they _could_ do anything.

Jason didn't look certain himself.

"We should stop by your dad's apartment," Reyna said. "Drop our bags there, maybe get changed? Your dad will tell us what precinct Percy's been taken when he finds out, won't he?"

"He, or whoever he gave the job to," Jason said, grim. "But you're right. Let's go."

He hailed a cab, and almost an hour later, they were in the penthouse of an Upper East Side building. The place had a classic feel to its design, with most of the furniture made out of grey stone, faux-sculpted friezes on the wall, and even a fountain in the entrance hall. It looked fake after Florence, but still managed to give enough of an air of wealth to impress.

Jason showed them to a mostly empty bedroom, which he told Nico was his. What little decoration remained here—wallpaper, bedsheets, curtains, a small desk—was declined in muted shades of purple, making the room seem dark even though it was a sunny late morning outside. Nico didn't mind—this atmosphere fit his mood more.

Jason and Reyna left Nico inside long enough for him to change into some other clothes from his suitcase; then, Jason changed as well—his dad was apparently keeping clothes for him in this apartment. As for Reyna, she didn't have anything on hand, but she rejected Jason's offer to look through his stepmom's or Thalia's clothes.

They waited for what seemed like an eternity to Nico, even though the clock let him know it hadn't even been half an hour. Noticing his nervousness, Reyna ended up suggesting they order something to eat; but while the distraction was welcome, it was only that, in the end. And no combination of pizza and lasagna could make Nico feel better at the moment.

* * *

It took one more hour for Jason's father to call his son back, and give them an address. Five minutes later, they were in a taxi cab, on their way to the precinct where Percy had been taken.

They were stopped at the entrance, though, being neither family nor lawyers, and they ended up slumped in chairs, Nico's mood even worse than before, now that he was so _close_. Five minutes later, someone entered the precinct; tall, blond, strong, with electric blue eyes, he wore a cloudy grey, perfectly-fitted suit with a pale blue shirt underneath. Nico didn't need to be told who he was to know it: that was Jason's dad. The resemblance between the two was jarring.

Physically speaking, at least. As soon as he spoke, their attitudes clashed, him stiff and reserved while Jason was wearing his distress on his face. "Jason," Mr Grace said sharply for all greeting.

"I'm sure you'll be in trouble with Juno for this," Jason said. He had probably meant it as a joke, but his broken voice didn't convey the right tone. And, from what Nico had heard, it might very well be true. "But thanks."

"You'll be in more trouble with her when she knows about those two girls I've heard of," Jupiter said, with an amused glance at Reyna—though his smirk didn't reach his eyes. "And pray she doesn't find out who you asked me to defend, either. He's the one you told me about, isn't he?"

Nico frowned, confused by the question, but Jason simply nodded.

Turning to Nico, Jason added. "Nico, this is my dad. Dad, this is Nico. He's, um—" he looked around and felt silent, unsure what to say. "Anyway."

"Thank you for coming, sir." Nico couldn't help his voice from squeaking a little, but he'd suffer the embarrassment if that man could help.

"Please, call me Jupiter. Come with me, we'll get a private room and you can tell me everything. And I do mean _everything_."

That was a step up from just being embarrassed at his voice. Reyna nodded him to go along, promising to stay there to find out if anything new happened, so Nico followed Jupiter, who navigated through the hallways of the precinct like he owned the place.

With Jason's help, Nico recapped the whole story—since Camp Half-Blood. Jason explained Percy's part in Bianca's death, although Nico wasn't sure how it was relevant. Nico told him how he'd moved in with Percy, and that they'd spent over a month together. And he was even forced to confirm that their relationship was, in fact, sexual. It had taken Jason's confirmation to get him to say it. As far as Nico was concerned, he would rather have pretended it hadn't happened, if that could help.

"Well," Jupiter said at the end of Nico's report. "I can't tell either of you what my line of defense will be until I speak with Percy, but I need to make it very clear that this isn't good. Even what you did over the past week in Italy, where the age of consent is fourteen, could be condemnable here."

"So that's it, then?" Nico let out. "He's going to jail? Because of me?"

Jupiter's smile took him by surprise. "I'm a lawyer. I don't say 'that's it' and give up. But we might have to prove that your relationship wasn't sexual. That, or we can try and invoke the 'Romeo and Juliet' exception, since you're fifteen and he's less than twenty-one."

That sounded too good to be true. "There's a 'but', isn't there?"

"Possibly. Your mother seems _very_ determined to protect your virtue, Nico." A crooked smile formed on his face, as if he wasn't used to teasing people.

"She's determined to _ruin my life_!" God, he sounded like a teenager. Even though it was true.

"I'm sure dad was joking, Nico."

"Not when I said she's determined," Jupiter cut off his son. "Do you really think NYPD goes to wait for an alleged offender of statutory rape at the airport very often?"

"No, we'd figured that out already. But then what? If there's legal grounds to defend him, then—"

"They can also find a way around it. You've met when your were fourteen. If you had any relation then, the exception is only partial, and they can still charge Percy. From there, it's all up to the lawyers' respective talents. While I am confident in my own competence, I can also guess who your mother could arrange to be put on the case. And there's the kidnapping charge, too—that's a lot trickier to get around. You also need to realize that, even if Percy walks free in the end, it wouldn't be pretty during the trial. And sometimes you don't need to win the trial to damage someone's life."

"He would miss out on college," Nico said, understanding dawning on him. "And he's already in trouble." Because his guilt over Bianca had prevented him from focusing on his classes for the first semester.

"I'm sure you're more aware of the possible repercussions than I am."

Nico sighed, but nodded. "Do whatever you have to do."

Jupiter chuckled, an impressed smirk on his face. "Commendable. But tone down the puppy love if someone else questions you. It'll be for the best, whatever Percy decides to do. Now," he stood up, "I should go see my actual client."

"Thanks for everything, Dad." Jason's deference was a little disturbing to Nico, but he wasn't going to judge. Not when his dad might save Percy's skin.

"Thank you, si— Jupiter."

He left them alone in the small, windowless room, and nobody asked them to leave, so Nico fell back on his chair. Eager to take his mind off everything that was going on, he said the first thing that crossed his mind. "What was that about your stepmom?"

If Jason was surprised by the question, he didn't let it show. "Which part?" he said, chuckling.

Nico looked up to him, frowning, and was met with a sad smile. "All of it?"

"Let's see. Juno will have my dad's skin for canceling appointments to come here. I bet she'll tell him he should have sent me to her, because the mom should be the one who takes care of the family while he takes care of the business."

"But she's your _step_ mom. And he's your dad."

"She has a very strict idea of what a family should look like. You have no idea how much she freaked out when I was dating Percy. And the weird part? It was actually worse when I said I was bisexual, not gay. In her mind, that means I'll never be able to settle. The _horror_." His sarcasm was sharp, but not enough to hide the underlying hurt.

"So when your dad mentioned the girls…"

"Can you imagine? Dating _two_ girls at once? And not even in a traditional, cheating way? She nearly choked when I tried to explain they were also dating each other."

Nico couldn't help but let out chuckle at the image, but he caught himself fast. "Sorry. I don't want to look like I'm mocking you. I can imagine what it must be like."

"Yeah. You can now, I guess." He sighed. "Just—if you ever feel like it's too much to deal with—call me, okay? Don't think you're alone to deal with this. Don't—don't do anything rash."

Nico stared at him in silence. "Did _you_ …"

Jason's grimace was faint, but Nico noticed it anyway. "Yeah. When me and Percy first started dating. He found me before it was too late, though."

Nico was rendered speechless by the admission. It felt like it clashed with what he knew of Jason—but then again, he supposed that was a good thing if he was no longer in that place.

"I'm serious," Jason said. "I don't care if I'm back in California, or it's the middle of the night, or _anything_. You call me."

The alarm in his voice was disturbing. "It's okay, Jason. I'm not going to—" Seeing Jason was about to argue, he added, "But I'll keep it in mind." After a brief silence, he added, "And if _you_ ever feel the need…"

Jason let out a weird sound—half chuckle, half scoff. "Thanks, but I don't need to burden you with it. I have other people keeping an eye on me."

"Like Reyna?" Nico wondered if that was her reason for staying in New York as well.

"Like Reyna. And speaking of her, we shouldn't leave her hanging." He got up, but when Nico did as well, Jason pulled him in for a tight hug. "It'll be okay. I love you, Nico."

Nico couldn't help but laugh as he rested his head on Jason's shoulder at the weirdness of his declaration. "You do realize this could be taken the wrong way, right?"

"Yeah, well, you know what I mean. And it's not just me. We _all_ love you. Don't you forget it."

"I won't."

They stood there for a while, and it was like Jason was shielding him against the world.

* * *

Reyna greeted them with a dull expression, and didn't ask what had happened—probably because she knew not to expect good news so soon. She told them Percy's mom had arrived and rushed in to see her son, barely speaking to Reyna long enough for her to tell Sally that Jason's father was here for Percy.

After a long while waiting, Jason stood up. "Maybe we should get going. We can't really do much here, and as dad says, it would help if Nico didn't show himself waiting for Percy."

Nico was tempted to retort that it was a little late for that, or to argue that he wasn't moving, but before he could do either, the doors of the precinct opened again, letting a familiar figure in. This time, unlike earlier, Maria di Angelo walked straight towards her son.

"There you are! I've been worried _sick_. Why weren't you answering your phone?" Her voice was a perfect comedy of a concerned mother, but she hadn't quite mastered the trick all the way to controlling her face, frozen in cold fury.

Nico didn't play along, and neither did Jason and Reyna, who stood on either side of him. "You haven't been calling me. Don't play pretend for the crowd. _You_ did this."

Maria scoffed. "Very well, let's cut to the chase. But not here."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"You're coming with me," she hissed, "if you know what's good for you and your _boyfriend_." The threat wasn't lost on Nico, although he wasn't sure what more Maria could threaten him or Percy _with_. He glanced towards Jason, who looked similarly puzzled. "Your friends can come along, if you're so afraid to be alone with me."

Nico stared at her, surprised by the offer. A show of good faith? Yeah right. But he _was_ curious, and there was still the half-worded threat he needed to consider. "Okay."

She led them, ironically enough, back to the very same windowless room Jason's dad had. With her in it, though, it felt more confining, _suffocating_ , than it had been with Jupiter.

"That boy doesn't stand a chance," she said matter-of-factly once Reyna closed the door.

"'That boy' has the best lawyer in town," Jason said, coldly.

Maria scrutinized him, unfazed. "You're Jupiter's son, aren't you? You're his spitting image. Too bad you can't seem to choose your friends as well as he did."

Nico fought hard not to gape at his mom and her casual revelation that she knew Jason's dad. Jason fell silent—probably just as surprised as Nico was.

Reyna, however, didn't seem troubled—or maybe she was just more in control. "What do you want? And don't try to act like you wanted to see Nico."

"Maybe I did?" Maria retorted with a calculated smile, baring her teeth just slightly. "As I said, _he_ doesn't stand a chance. Jupiter might get him out of the statutory rape charges, but the kidnapping? I mean, how _stupid_ did you have to be to leave the country without any signed papers from me? Maybe I should sue Tristan McLean, too. Can you imagine the headlines? The scandal as he's suddenly involved in an affair that has a faint scent of pedophilia attached to it?" Maria sounded positively delighted at the idea.

"Leave Piper's dad out of it!" Nico burst out, but it only seemed to brighten her mood.

"Well, he did pay for the tickets. And probably more than that, if nobody asked questions at seeing a minor leave the country unattended. I only want justice to be served."

"So you've come to gloat?" Reyna let out. Her voice was deep, close to a snarl.

"Of course not. You look at me like I'm a Disney villain, because that's how you see the world. There's no point in _gloating_. I'm exposing the facts to you. Even if Percy Jackson get away from the trial unscathed, ripples _will_ spread. Columbia won't want him anymore—what sane college administrator would even _risk_ looking like he endorses child abuse in these times of rape scandals? His stepfather might even be… let go of, for good measure. Which isn't good, when you need to pay all the costs caused by what I'm sure will be a lengthy trial. And that's the _best_ case scenario. Jupiter may be the best lawyer in town, but he's not invincible. And as I said, Tristan McLean is involved, too. So are _you_ , for that matter," she said, looking at Jason and Reyna. "You're all adults, after all, unlike my son."

There was an eerie silence, and Nico felt his friends growing restless next to him.

"What do you _want_?" he asked, his voice quiet, but infused with all the strength Nico could muster.

"We make a deal. You come home, stop seeing that boy, start _behaving_ , and I have all the charges dropped."

Nico scoffed. "How about I expose you for the abusive mother you are instead?"

A hurt look passed on Maria's face, strangely out of place in the midst of her almost evil glee. "Abusive? How do you intend to expose me as 'abusive'? Did I ever physically hurt you?"

"No, but—"

"Did I throw you out of my home? No, you _left_."

"I _couldn't_ stay!"

"And I was kind enough not to call the cops on you right there and then! I even let you keep draining on my money as much as you liked!"

Nico took a deep breath. "Those things you said to me—"

"Are _words_. Words of a depressed woman who had lost her oldest daughter. I was in treatment for it. You'll have to find better than that."

"I don't care what arguments you come up with, it won't stop me from letting everyone know who you are."

Maria giggled. "And _that_ won't make you look like a child who's fallen for the older man who emotionally manipulated him away from his mother and into his bed, and would say anything for him." She scoffed. "It's all a matter of public relations, and I am well-versed in that. I'm just a mother fighting to get her child back. You're a confused kid who doesn't know any better. And anyone who would go in your direction just so happens to have been friends with your abuser for years." She paused, admiring the effect of her diatribe—it was written all over Nico's face; he couldn't hold it all in. "Take my deal and none of that happens."

Nico found it difficult to breathe all of a sudden. "Why? Why are you doing this?"

Maria's smile grew cold as she laid both hands on the table behind them, bending over it to level her eyes with Nico's. "Did you really think I'd never find out who the driver was?" Her voice was soft and smooth; and yet, every single sound quivered with fury.

"The driver?" Nico knew exactly what she meant, but his terror has pushed him to ask, to break the silence that lingered after her question.

"The one who drove the car Bianca died in. Did you think I wouldn't ask the camp? Oh, they claimed they didn't know, but they provided me with a list of the kids who were at the same party. Who drove the cars. Finding out who was with whom was easy from there. It was buried, but _I_ didn't forget. And that _you_ would choose _this_ man to commit your _abominations_ —" She leaned in closer, detaching the next words carefully. " _It makes me sick_."

Nico stared at her, feeling wrecked inside. Every bit of confidence he'd built during his time with Percy felt like it was slipping away, every ounce of happiness fading as his own guilt was being shoved right in his own face by his mother. His _mother_ was claiming the moral high ground on him, and Nico couldn't find any way to argue with her.

But he couldn't let Percy suffer the consequences of it. He knew how much their relationship was important—to both of them—but he couldn't selfishly hold on to it. "I'll take your deal," he said. He felt Jason tense next to him, but ignored him. "But if I hear you've done anything to Percy— _anything_ —I will destroy you."

Maria nodded. "You'll try. In the meantime, we're leaving."

"At least let me say goodbye to him."

Her most melodious laugh greeted his request. "Let it be known I am merciful. I'll be waiting for you in the entrance hall. I have a few calls to make."

In the hallway, she snapped her fingers at a policeman nearby, and whispered something to him. The man looked puzzled, but nodded, then turned to Nico. "This way, please."

Quickly—too quickly—the policeman paused in front of a door, knocked, and let Nico inside. Percy looked shocked to see him, but Jupiter's face was impassible. Percy's parents weren't there, thankfully. Nico wasn't ready to face Sally after he was indirectly responsible for the predicament her son was in.

He couldn't stall—if he did, he might not manage to get it out. "My mom offered me a deal," he said. Jupiter was unfazed, as if he'd expected it, but Percy was confused. "She'll get all the charges dropped."

A smile briefly passed on Percy's face—too briefly, but Nico chose to hold on to it in his heart—but it was quickly replaced by suspicion. "But?"

"We can't see each other anymore."

Percy shook his head. "Nico, no—"

"It's already done." He turned to Jupiter. "Can you give us a moment please?"

The lawyer nodded slowly, and headed outside the room, leaving them alone.

"I just—" he started, unsure what to say, "I wanted you to know that I didn't do it because I don't think you're worth fighting for. I didn't want you to think I didn't love you."

"Nico…I'd never think that."

Nico ignored him and barreled on. "I couldn't let her ruin all your chances in life, and your family, and she started threatening the others and Piper's dad and—" He broke off to catch his breath. "I can't be responsible for that."

Percy stood up and closed the distance between them, cupping Nico's face with one one. "You wouldn't have been."

"I would have now that she gave me the choice to stop it."

Percy stared at him, thoughtful. "I understand. And thank you."

The words—the last Nico had expected—finished to break him, and he nearly collapsed against Percy, only held up by the other boy's arms as he cried on his shoulder. Percy held him in silence, one hand soothingly caressing his back.

When Nico finally regained composure and pulled back, he realized Percy had been crying too—silently. "I want you to promise me you won't waste it," Nico said. "Don't go back to the place you were in when I first came at your apartment."

Percy nodded. "I'll know you love me. That'll be enough."

"I do. Love you, I mean." He took a deep breath. "Hey, it's only temporary. When I'm seventeen, she won't be able to threaten you with statutory rape anymore—we'll just have to make sure not to leave the country again."

Percy shook his head. "Don't say that. I don't want you to wait for me."

"But what if I do anyway?"

"Well, let's say that if, by the time you're seventeen, you still want me… well, you'll know where to find me. Or Jason will." He paused. "You will stay in touch with Jason and the girls, right?"

Nico chuckled. His mom had said nothing about that. "Yeah. I don't see why not."

"Good."

They remained silent for a while, then Percy said, "So… a goodbye kiss?"

"I don't want to," Nico said. He was whining, he knew it, but he didn't care. This couldn't just _end_. It couldn't…and yet it was going to. He'd agreed to it.

So he reached up, tiptoeing to find Percy's lips. Their kiss was hesitant at first, almost chaste, both their lips salty with tears, but the more Nico found the familiarity of Percy's contact, the more he was aware of how this might be the last time he got to experience it, and he grew hungrier, more determined to sear this memory into his brain.

Nico didn't say anything when their lips parted, and Percy remained silent too. There was nothing left to say now. If only Nico could manage to shake the feeling he was giving up.

He turned his back to Percy, walked to the door, trembling as he reached for the handle. And then he was out, and even though he was immediately wrapped in two pairs of arms belonging to Jason and Reyna, he couldn't help but feel that he was irrevocably _alone_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to be clear: no, the fic isn't over yet =)


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to NaNoWriMo the next updates are all going to be slower than usual. It's normal (unlike those times where I was just lazy :P). So don't worry about it ^^
> 
> Also, the story will be marked as complete when it's finished, so no need to ask me after every chapter. I think it'll end at chapter 21 or 22 (but it's just an estimate).

The school year dragged on for the last few months, but it eventually ended, giving way to summer. Time felt like it had slowed down then, but Nico was still mostly unprepared when summer vacation came.

Anything would be better than staying home with his mother as he had for the past few months. He actually considered getting a job, but that wasn't an option—few people would hire a fifteen-year-old. So he just had to divide his summer more creatively. Spending a few weeks in New Orleans with Hazel and her mom, was the easiest to arrange, and from there, he planned a trip to California to see Jason, Reyna and Piper. The entire time, he refused to ask about Percy. The less he talked about him, the less he'd _think_ about him, and the less he'd hurt. At least that was his logic.

The most infuriating aspect of this was how _easy_ it all was. His mother had reverted back to the quiet indifference she'd shown when he'd asked to go to Florence. Not a single opposition came, and at no point did money run out. It was like she didn't care either way about Nico. No worrying, no wondering if he'll be fine, no anger that he was so obviously avoiding her.

She was winning a game she might not even have been aware she was playing. She'd hurt Nico—torn him to pieces—and he had no idea how he could pay her back in kind. He wanted to—he was _desperate_ to—but nothing worked.

When the last month of vacation rolled around, however, Nico received a seemingly innocent text from Leo, asking if he'd come back to Camp Half-Blood this year. That was his opportunity. He hadn't found anything else to do with his time, and had almost accepted it was time to come home, and this was the perfect opportunity. Surely Maria would not be able to stand him going back to the place where Bianca had died.

There may have been a small remnant of self-flagellation in his decision to go back, too. Even if he thought he could stand going back to the place Bianca had died, he'd mostly hung out with the seniors the year before, and they wouldn't be coming back, so he'd be completely alone. Or so he'd thought. Leo was there, of course, as was Hazel's boyfriend, Frank, even though Hazel hadn't come back.

And his last stay had become something of a legend, he quickly found out: the new kid, taken as partner by one of the stars of the camp, who'd risen to the top, only to leave abruptly after his sister's death. If they knew of the recent developments with him and Percy, no one mentioned them, thankfully. If anything, most campers seemed to respect him for daring to come back.

He ended up with a newcomer as his partner, a boy his age named Will Solace, who was the brother of Fred, one of the camp's leaders. And…well, for all his promises to wait for Percy, he couldn't help but warm up to Will _a little_. Maybe more than a little. Mostly because Will left him with no other choice than to open up to him—he reminded him of Percy in the way he was always _there_ when Nico tried to get some distance and clam up.

Nico didn't share _everything_ with him—he barely talked about Percy—but it was good to have someone with whom he could talk to about his other problems. Like his mom. After what she'd done to Percy, he'd felt uncomfortable mentioning her to Jason when they talked. It was too difficult, like talking about Bianca. Will was an outsider to the whole debacle, and it was strangely easier as a result.

It helped that they both had sob stories to share. Will had lost his parents a few months ago, and his brother was taking care of him—or rather, keeping him at arm's length without actually taking care of him, which was how he'd ended up at Camp Half-Blood.

All their time at Camp Half-Blood wasn't spent complaining about their respective families, though. They had a pretty good run, actually, keeping close to the top of the ranking even though Will didn't seem any more interested in doing so than Nixo was. They just gelled together whenever it was time for the various trials the camp leaders could come up with. And if it meant they could snob the champions' party together, all the better.

When summer drew to a close—without any drama, thankfully—and Nico learned that Will lived in New York as will, he was unreasonably happy. And, okay, maybe he had a crush on Will. But he would _not_ rush things. That had led him to disaster with Percy, and he wouldn't make the mistake twice. Besides, Will knew about Nico's sexuality, and while he'd accepted it, he hadn't mentioned his own in return, so Nico wasn't sure if he'd be welcome. Especially when they met in New York and Will introduced Nico to his girlfriend.

It didn't stop Maria from unleashing a flurry of quips the first time Will came over, of course. Nothing _too_ hurtful; it could have been gentle teasing if not for everything she'd done in the past. But she was still out of line, and Nico vowed to avoid having Will over when she was there. That hardly proved to be a problem, though, since Will shared his apartment with only his brother, who couldn't care less about who Will invited—and actually seemed happy that Will had a friend coming over regularly. From what Nico gathered, that hadn't happened a lot recently. Nico couldn't help but feel a mixture of pride and sympathy when he was the one Will called to talk about his breakup in mid-November.

Jason came back to New York in late December, and he invited Nico both to celebrate Christmas with his family, and to the New Year's Eve party he was throwing, with a bunch of other people from Camp Half-Blood and Jason's high school. He took the former invitation without a speck of hesitation at the thought of leaving his mom alone, and spent Christmas eve with Jason, Jupiter and Thalia. Their parents had separated, though Juno wouldn't divorce if she could avoid the scandal, but her daughter had still chosen to spend the night with her stepdad and stepbrother.

Over dinner, Jason had assured Nico that Percy wouldn't be coming to his New Year's Eve party, since he'd gone to San Francisco with his parents for the holidays. Jason was also more than happy to extend the invitation to Will, with whom Nico had more or less planned to spend the night, so they both came.

When, at midnight, Will kissed him—one shy peck on the lips—Nico grabbed his hand and rushed to the balcony for a proper kiss and one serious conversation. One during which Will, in his unabashed way, immediately confessed to loving him. Nico hadn't known it was possible for someone to say that so _easily_.

He was pretty sure Jason had watched it all unfold, judging by the spark in his eyes when they came back in. It was weird, seeing Jason approve, but also comforting. Will and Nico met with him one last time before he left to California for the spring semester, and Nico told him they were officially dating. Jason gave Will his best intimidating glare, but it only held for a few seconds before he cracked up. "Make him happy," he said, before hugging the two of them goodbye.

A few days after Jason left, Nico stumbled upon Bianca's New Year card from the year before—the one where she'd wished for him to find love. Well, her wish had come true—twice. It was an odd thought, and weirder still that he couldn't really compare the two.

* * *

Officially being boyfriends meant dealing with Maria at some point. In the end, Reyna was the one to suggest a solution. It was fairly obvious, really: good old blackmail. Not particularly ethical, but Nico was beyond thinking about _ethics_ in relation with his mother.

The plan was simple: on his birthday in late January, he recorded himself, explaining to a would-be audience that he planned to come out to his mom and tell her about his new boyfriend. He then placed the camera on the coffee table in the living room, invisible among all the other stuff gathered here—on purpose, over the course of the past month—and waited with Will for Maria to come home.

He'd calculated his timing, of course, and she entered the apartment only a few minutes later. As soon as she saw the two of them sitting in a couch, waiting for her, Maria scoffed. "And what were you two up to? Didn't you learn your lesson with the first one, Nico? You had to bring another, and bring him home, too?" She sighed dramatically. "Please, do tell me where I need to clean up after your filth."

Will and Nico both paused, the shock on Will's face only partly faked. Nico didn't like her bringing up Percy, but he hoped it could go unnoticed. He had to keep thinking straight. That was the one advantage to months of taking her insults: he was completely desensitized to them. "Mom… there's something I have to tell you."

She froze and eyed him suspiciously. "What?"

He took a deep breath—one he didn't have to stage. The next part would have to be crucial, and he felt jittery at the thought of everything going wrong somehow. "Mom, I'm gay. Will and I are dating."

Maria stared at him. "Is that it? I thought you and I both knew that you were a freak. The fact that you found someone like you…"—she scoffed—"am I supposed to care? If you want to paint a target on his back, fine. I'll deal with him too." Turning to Will, she added, "You should dump him if you know what's good for you."

Nico was actually a little surprised by such an overt declaration of hostility. Hadn't she claimed she'd gone after Percy because of his involvement with Bianca's death? Had that been just an excuse, or had it only made an already existing hatred even stronger? "I just— I wanted to tell you. I hoped you'd be happy for me."

"I'll never be happy for you. Not until you stop being a constant disappointment."

Nico cast a glance towards Will, who didn't look sure what he should do. Nico nodded towards the camera; they had enough. As Will reached for it, Nico decided to deal one last blow. "Bianca would have been happy for me." Maria scoffed once more, but before she could say something, Nico reached in his pocket and handed her the card Bianca had made him last New Year. The picture with two boys holding hand, with her message on the back, promising to help Nico find a boyfriend.

Tears welled up in Maria's eyes as she read it, recognizing her daughter's handwriting. But Nico didn't care. Will had the camera, and Nico nodded him to follow him. "I'm leaving. Try to stop me, and the recording of this conversation goes online."

He rushed the rest of the way to the door. It wasn't very dignified, but he had to have the last word in this conversation. A small victory.

They'd arranged everything: his suitcase was in Will's car, since he'd got his license a few months before on his birthday; they drove to his apartment, where Nico would spend the weekend. Will had offered Nico to stay with him longer, but Nico had made that mistake with Percy. He didn't want to rush things again. Instead, he'd arranged things with Jason and Jupiter so he could stay in the latter's apartment, using Jason's room.

The first night he spent at Will's place, they celebrated Nico's birthday together. Even with Nico's resolution not to rush things, ended up crossing another first for Nico when they had sex for the first time, and Nico taught Will how to top, just like Percy had taught him in Florence.

When he fell asleep in Will's arms afterwards, a small part of Nico's brain marveled at the fact that he'd been able to evoke the memory without feeling sad.


	19. Chapter 19

Settling into a new life with Jupiter and Thalia wasn't as world-shattering as Nico had expected it to. Jupiter treated him mostly like a flatmate, with a mixture of respect and concern, expecting Nico to pull his own weight (except financially, thankfully) but not imposing too many rules on him. Nico did have to come home every day, or warn a day in advance if he planned not to, which was less freedom than he'd grown used to over the past year, but was still entirely manageable.

His relationship with Will didn't change, at least not because of the move. It _did_ evolve, as it should once it became sexual as well as romantic, but Nico wasn't sure if it was entirely related. But it was nothing Nico hadn't dealt with before, albeit briefly, with Percy.

Most importantly, being rid of his mother's influence felt _liberating_ , of all things. Nico had thought he'd be a little sad at cutting all ties with her, or maybe guilty for blackmailing her, but he wasn't. If that made him a horrible person…well, he was a _happy_ horrible person, at least. He could deal with that.

Nico certainly didn't _feel_ horrible, though. He couldn't say he'd been justified, because that would be giving himself some sense of self-righteousness that he didn't feel. But he'd done what he needed to, and escaped from a terrible situation.

As life got back to normal, with high school and standardized tests and exams and friends and Will, this inner debate soon faded from his attention, only leaving this feeling of liberation. And even though he was busy with so many things, he was also finally free to study his feelings for his new boyfriend. What he found surprised him, but he was almost certain it was love.

He'd thought of love as something that one could only experience once, with a "true love", the legendary "only one". And yet…he couldn't deny what he felt for Will now, but it didn't change what he felt for Percy. What he _had_ felt for Percy? He wasn't sure. It was hard to tell after not seeing him, and barely _hearing_ about him for almost a year.

Maybe he was overthinking things. Maybe he could just love once, and love again, without it being a Big Deal. Maybe it wasn't a betrayal towards Percy to admit it to himself. Maybe even to Will.

Definitely to Will, actually. Nico's boyfriend had told him he loved him from the get-go, and while Nico had been taken aback then, he'd progressively figured out that Will had meant the words. Will wouldn't freak out if Nico said them back at last. And, as a matter of fact, he didn't. The happiest of smiles came on his face, and he kissed Nico with enough passion to knock them both down on the floor of his bedroom in Jupiter's apartment. Nico could only hope they hadn't been _too_ loud afterwards, but he doubted it.

* * *

Summer found a much more optimistic Nico than the previous year. Jason visited his dad in New York, and that meant visiting Nico too; they shared Jason's bedroom—which was technically Nico's now—for only one night, before Jason joined Piper in the apartment she'd rented with her dad. Reyna hadn't been able to make it, but she kept in touch over the Internet.

Nico went to visit Hazel for a few weeks, too, then came back to his small world. Part of him knew that one of the reasons Jason had left was so he could have Percy come over without it being awkward with Nico; but he didn't mind. He was content with what he had now, and while he would technically meet Percy again now that Maria was out of the way, Nico wasn't sure if it would work, now that he had Will. At the very least, Jason never invited them together, so Nico guessed he agreed.

But just as Nico learned that maybe he could love more than once, he also learned that love could be true without lasting forever. He and Will broke up around Will's birthday, not because of any dramatic event happening to tear them apart, but just because it didn't feel _right_ anymore. Nico wasn't even sure the word "breakup" applied; it felt more like a smooth transition than the brutal change that the word evoked. They were still friends. The main difference is that they didn't kiss or sleep together anymore. Well, just once in a while. Orgasms were always appreciated, and this new, no-strings-attached experience was something Nico hadn't expected to ever try, but was growing to appreciate.

But that meant he _was_ single when the new year came, bringing with it the promise of Nico's seventeenth birthday coming soon. And while his traitorous brain had suggested it to him almost instantly, Jason was the first to bring it up.

"So, your birthday's soon," he said over Skype in mid-January. "Do you have anything planned?"

"No idea. I haven't really given it much thought."

"How about _I_ throw you a party?"

"You're coming to New York again?" Jason had _just_ been over for the holidays, and the semester had started again.

"I wouldn't miss it." There was a moment of silence, words left unsaid hanging between them. Jason _had_ missed his previous birthday; if he didn't want to miss this one specifically, there was only one reason.

Nico hadn't expected him to say it out loud, but Jason did anyway. "I'm going to say something, and if you don't like it, feel free to tell me, but I'd feel bad if I didn't." He took a deep breath. "Since you and Will broke up, and I'm organizing your birthday party, and you're turning seventeen—how about I invite Percy to said party?"

Even if the words weren't unexpected, Nico was still stunned to actually hear them. He felt like a deer in the headlights: paralyzed, unable to make a single decision or emit a noise.

Jason took his silence the wrong way. "Or not. Forget I asked."

"No, I—" Nico sighed. "Do you think he'd come?"

Jason narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I'm _pretty_ sure he would."

"It's just that…I broke up with Will a couple months ago, and my mom's not in the picture anymore. I should have called him then, shouldn't I?"

Jason shrugged. "You needed some time on your own, if you ask me. I know your breakup with Will was probably the most ideal breakup in existence, but you were still freshly broken up. But if you're ready now…it would be an occasion to meet again."

Nico considered his words in silence for a minute. "Okay."

"Okay what?"

"To all of it. You can throw me a party. And invite Percy to it."

Jason's squeal of joy was nothing compared to the storm of emotions that had suddenly awoken inside of Nico. He only hoped he wasn't overhyping himself.


	20. Chapter 20

The weeks separating Nico from his birthday seemed to go by in a flash after Jason's call.

He hadn't had a proper birthday party for the past couple of years. He had _celebrated_ it, with Will last year, with Percy the year before that, in weird ways that were always tainted by thoughts of his mother, one way or another. And the year before that, when they were in New Orleans, Bianca and Hazel had made sure he'd feel loved, but he had no friends at the time, so it had just been the three of them. Hardly a party.

Nico wasn't entirely sure if he was excited or anxious about the party, but he was looking forward to the experience, at least.

And—he couldn't hide it from himself for very long—the thought of meeting Percy again was inspiring all kinds of conflicting feelings in him. Would he have changed a lot? Would he think _Nico_ had changed? He knew that he had, of course: he'd had another growth spurt since the last time they'd met, and he'd gained some muscle due to Will's sports-enthusiastic influence. And that was nothing to say of his new freedom, both from his mother and from some of his own insecurities.

Jason had assured him Percy would come, so he could assume that at least he wouldn't be mad that Nico hadn't been in touch. Maybe Percy had wanted to stay away until he was legal, even with Maria out of the way. Nico could definitely understand if he had.

But, at last, the big day came. Thalia was the first to greet him with a "Happy birthday" and a present—a symbolic one, really: the key to her car, that she'd agreed to lend him for the night. She nearly pounced on her phone after giving it to Nico, and moments later, Nico guessed why, when he received a text from Jason. Short and direct: _Happy b-day. My plane lands at eleven. Meet me for lunch?_

Nico agreed to meet in a fast food restaurant at noon. Somehow, Jason managed to be there first, and when Nico entered, he was trapped in a double hug—from Jason, who'd been standing near the door, and Reyna, who'd been ambushed right behind it.

"Happy birthday!" Jason singsonged, ignoring Nico's sounds of protests as he nearly crushed his ribs. "God, I missed you."

"O-kay?"

"You too, Reyna," he added, letting go of Nico at least—though Reyna didn't.

She smirked. "I bet you did."

"Are you seriously going to talk over me on my birthday?"

Jason chuckled. "No, of course not. Let's sit down. I already ordered for you, I'm sure you don't mind."

Nico didn't—mostly because Jason knew his order by heart. How he'd managed to memorize it after their first visit, Nico didn't want to think about.

"So, what's up?" he asked as he settled in the booth they'd taken. They'd force him to sit in the corner, but Nico didn't mind. Not with these two.

"We broke up, actually," Reyna said. Jason gave her an exasperated glance, but she shrugged. "What? You were going to take ages getting to the point if I'd let you."

"Oh. Um—are you okay?"

"Reyna and I are. I mean, it's been a year—we were together in name only."

Reyna giggled. "But Piper…"

"Shut up. Piper has decided she needed some time away from me, to reduce the post-breakup awkwardness. So she kicked me out. It's been a funny few weeks, basically."

"You should have told me. You didn't have to plan my birthday if you had problems to deal with!"

Jason rolled his eyes. "It was no problem at all. I swear. My dad found me a place to stay in a day. And sleeping in a hotel isn't all that bad." He chuckled. "We had it coming—Piper and I, I mean. It's a miracle we lasted this long with Reyna away in military school."

"Which is going swimmingly, even though neither of you asked."

"It's because we didn't doubt it was," Jason retorted.

"Well you could still be nice. Like I am. Look: hey, Nico, how's it going with your ex-boyfriend-slash-fuck-buddy?"

Nico stared at her, fighting back a blush—in vain. "Will's fine. But we're not—well—it's been a while, at least."

"And if everything goes according to plan tonight," Jason said, "he's going to be your ex-boyfriend, full stop."

Nico groaned. "Don't say that."

"Afraid I might jinx it?"

"Actually, yes! I don't want there to be a lot of pressure on this. It's been almost two years, I can't expect—"

"Oh, that reminds me. Present time!"

Nico stared at Jason. "Are you trying to make me kill you?"

"I can assist you with that, if you want," Reyna said, leaning in as if to whisper, but speaking in her regular voice.

Jason had produced two boxes from his coat pocket while Nico was chiding him, and slid the smallest one towards Nico. He unwrapped the colorful paper, and couldn't help but stare at Jason once more when he saw the content.

"I may have had to ask Will, to be sure," Jason said.

"A condom?"

"I mean, the last time I bought some with you was almost two years ago, so I wasn't sure of the size— Nice, by the way. Very nice."

"A _condom_?"

"Well, you can't be too prepared. In case things go well with Percy tonight. Or someone else, you never know."

Nico turned to Reyna. "Why am I friends with him?"

"I ask myself the same question every time I see him."

"The reason you're friends with me is this." Jason said, sliding the other box across the table. "The other one was just the joke present. Come on, I thought it was obvious."

Nico took it, but before he unwrapped it, he couldn't help but look up at Jason. "You know, if you really wanted to be practical, you'd have gotten me more than one." He had the satisfaction of seeing Jason choke on his drink as he unwrapped the other present: a collector's edition of the newest _Mythomagic_ game, complete with a card deck straight from the new, currently unreleased set. Nico couldn't help but gape at it, starry-eyed. "Okay, that is kind of awesome."

"Only 'kind of'?"

"Don't push your luck," Nico said, deadpan, not bothering to look up from his present. "I haven't brought up the fact that you basically talked about the size of my dick in public."

Is that really the best you could come up with, Jason?" Reyna asked, interrupting their banter. " _Boys_. Literally all you could think about was dicks and video games. I'm afraid I have you beat and I didn't even give it my all."

Reyna's present was an aviator jacket, in black leather with white fur lining the inside. "It was my great-uncle's," she said. "It's an authentic from World War II. I figured it would suit you. Do you like it?"

"I— yeah, of course I do. Thanks, Reyna, that's an amazing present." Especially if it was a family heirloom. "Are you sure you're okay giving it away like that?"

"It's much better with you than with anyone in my family, trust me."

Nico frowned at the comment, but he didn't push it. "If you ever want it back, though—I'll understand."

"That would be a lame present, but I appreciate the thought. Don't worry about it, though. I guarantee you, it's fine."

"My present was still better," Jason said, pouting.

"Well…" Nico said, pretending to think about it.

"Maybe I should just wrap a bow on Percy tonight and say he's my present too. Or even better, ask him to come wearing just a bow."

Nico was about to glare at Jason, but the image was to funny—and maybe a little appealing, just a little—for him to stay serious. "He'd probably do it, too."

Jason smiled. "Yeah. He would."

* * *

For the party, Jason had rented out a small café in Manhattan—probably using his father's money or influence, or both, to do so—and they came there late in the afternoon to prepare things. As he'd told Nico, it was all age-appropriate, with an attention to detail Nico hadn't expected: he'd picked the place because it didn't serve any alcohol, for starters. Jason plugged his computer in the sound system, and set up a few playlists for the night.

There wasn't much else to do, really, since food and drinks were all ready, courtesy of the owners. The three of them had to move all the tables, but even that didn't take long. They were soon waiting around, catching up on more trivial elements of each others' lives to pass the time. And, well, Nico didn't mind waiting with these two, but the tension of the upcoming party—and of Jason's special guest—was beginning to catch up with him. He couldn't help but want it to be all over with already, one way or another.

They'd been there for over an hour when guests started to arrive at last—Will being the first. Jason had promised Nico he wouldn't go overboard with it, but obviously they didn't have the same definition of the word: soon, there were people from Nico's school—mostly the Mythomagic club, but not only—and from both years he'd gone to Camp Half-Blood.

"Was it really necessary to invite so many people?" Nico protested when he realized that the café might turn out to be _too_ small to house everyone.

Will, next to him, nudged him playfully. "Maybe they really all cared about you. All those I invited asked me to come, anyway."

Nico scoffed. "Free food will do that to people." Will cast him a chiding glance, but Nico ignored it. "And did you really have to talk to Jason about what condoms to buy me?"

Will burst out laughing. "He really did it? Man, I wish I'd been there to see your face."

"Aren't you supposed to be at least a little jealous?"

He shrugged. "I care about you, you know that. And I did love you. But we're not together anymore, and if he can make you happy—or at least give you closure—then I can respect that."

"You don't even know him."

"No, but if I'm any indication, you have excellent taste in men."

Nico rolled his eyes, and took the opportunity offered by Eva's arrival to leave Will behind.

To be completely fair, Nico was almost willing to believe Will when he said people had wanted to come. He'd made a surprising amount of friends since coming to New York. Mostly, Nico wasn't sure this kind of party was really for him. The loud music mixed with the noise of conversations, the cluttered feeling he had whenever he was in the crowd, the heat, the lights that Leo had tinkered 'to make them more party-like'…it was all _too much_. Too overwhelming.

Nico made his way towards the door, claiming he needed some fresh air. Which wasn't entirely true, but was the only appropriate thing to say. 'I want to stay the hell away from you, even if I like you all and am really grateful to you for coming'…not so much. Even just crossing the café took him a good fifteen minutes, because people would constantly pull him aside to talk, dance, or both. When he finally reached the door, he resolutely ignored Rachel beckoning to him.

But even then, he'd turned his head just long enough to ran straight into another guest who'd just arrived. Nico lost his balance, caught just in time in a familiar embrace. And yet…slightly _wrong_.

He looked up to find green eyes staring back, just as surprised as Nico felt. Which, really, was ridiculous—it was Nico's birthday, and he'd known Percy would be invited. And yet, they were still both surprised.

"Um—sorry," Nico mumbled, his voice completely drowned out in the ambient noise. He pulled away, and only then did he realize what had felt wrong about Percy's arms around him: it wasn't Percy himself. He'd barely changed, really. Nico had, though. He'd grown to just a couple inches shorter than Percy, meeting him almost eye to eye. Part of Nico couldn't help but regret that he wouldn't have to tiptoe to kiss him anymore—or force him to bend down.

Percy didn't seem to share those regrets, because a smile lit up his face. "Hi. Happy birthday." He clumsily fished in his pockets, and handed Nico a small package. "It's not much, but I wasn't sure what to get you."

He shifted uncomfortably as Nico took the present. "You didn't have to," Nico shouted back, trying his best to be heard. "I told Jason to let people know I didn't want anything."

"But I'm not 'people', right?" There was a hesitation in his eyes, as if he expected Nico to say he was.

Nico shook his head. "No, I— never mind. Come on, let's go outside." He didn't want for Percy's answer, grabbed his arm and dragged him outside. The cold air and relative quiet immediately did wonders for Nico's state of mind, even though his ears still rang. "Thanks for coming. I wasn't sure you would."

"Of course I was going to come for your birthday."

"Well you could've found someone—"

"I would still have come as a friend."

So. There was no someone, then. Jason had made it obvious enough, but a confirmation from Percy was better. "You could have been mad at me for causing all that trouble."

Percy chuckled. "You've grown hotter since the last time, but you really haven't changed, have you?"

Nico groaned—both at the compliment and at his own self-deprecation. "I thought I had. Now I meet you again, and—I don't know anymore. Just—forget it. I'm glad you came."

"I'm glad _I_ came," Percy retorted, grinning. "Aren't you going to open it?" he asked, eyeing the present he'd given Nico.

Nico glanced at it too, wary. "After what Jason pulled on me…" Percy gave him a curious glance, but Nico shook his head and tore the present open. Inside was a collection of postcards from Florence, showing sweeping images of the various landmarks. And below them, pictures taken during their own trip there. Nico couldn't help but smile at his fifteen-year-old self laughing in the pool of Piper's dad's villa; but at the same time, seeing those made him tear up.

Percy seemed to latch on to the latter. "Please tell me you're not going to cry. That would be the worst way I ever fucked-up a reunion."

Nico chuckled. "No, it's—I'm fine. They're great. You've been holding on to them all this time?"

"Well…yes."

Nico shook his head, smiling all the way. "You're ridiculous."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Because I'm getting mixed signals here."

"Good, I think."

They remained silent for a moment, but it wasn't one of the comfortable silence they'd once shared when Nico had lived at Percy's apartment. He felt like they were two strangers finding their mark around each other—which, in a sense, they _were_ , but he'd expected they could be able to skip that step.

"So—" Nico started. "How have you been?"

"I'm great. Trying to figure out what I'll do with my life after I graduate next year, mostly because my mom won't stop nagging me about it."

"So you didn't—fail? You know, because of me?"

"Of course not. Didn't Jason tell you?"

"I didn't want to talk to him about you." Then, frowning, he asked, "Why, did you two talk about me?"

"Well…yes. Sometimes." Percy sighed. "Sorry things didn't work out with your mom. I can't imagine what it must be like."

Nico scoffed. "I'm better without her. I know—it's a sad thing to say. Trust me, Will's told me that a few thousand times."

A wicked grin appeared on Percy's face. "Speaking of which…are you going to introduce us? The guy who helped rid you of your mom? I have to meet him."

Nico stared at him. "You are aware that we dated for the best part of last year, don't you?"

"Yeah. And that you two lasted longer than we did. Jason's even hinted that you weren't completely over." Nico blushed after the last comment, mentally noting to teach Jason a lesson on discretion. "I'm glad he made you happy."

Nico couldn't help but chuckle that both of them had managed to say the same thing about each other on the same night. "Well, I guess I will have to return to the party soon, so you'll probably get to meet him."

"Or we could not go in at all." Percy's words had come in a rush, almost as if he'd felt the opportunity to tell them slip away. "If you want to, I mean."

Did he? Nico wasn't even sure anymore. But he wanted to find out. "Well, that's why Jason invited you, isn't it?" He took in a deep breath, and, seeing Percy was as paralyzed as he was, decided he had to find a way to make sure.

He took a step to close the space between them, reached out to cup Percy's face, and brought their lips together, slowly, hesitantly.

The only thing that hadn't changed was the salty taste of Percy's lips. As Nico had guessed, neither of them needed to accommodate for a height difference anymore. That should have made things more comfortable, but they _weren't_. Percy was just as uncertain as Nico was, as if their respective muscle memory had gone on strike. And yet…it also lacked the thrill that exploration could have during a first kiss. Nico knew Percy's lips, his mouth, his body; he _knew_ what made him tick, what he liked, what would make his knees buckle. But he couldn't seem to actually bring himself to _do_ it.

It wasn't a terrible kiss, but it didn't feel right. So Nico pulled away, disappointed—almost sad to the point of tears. But he didn't let it show. "Um, I—"

Percy sighed. "Yeah."

"I really wanted it to work."

Strangely, Percy chuckled. "Well, at least that's that, isn't it? Do you think we can be friends?"

"I'd love that. But I—don't have your number anymore," Nico confessed. "I may have deleted it at some point."

"Hey, no worries. I still have yours." He grabbed his phone, typed on it for a moment, and Nico received a text moments later—a series of heart-eyed emojis.

"I'm pretty sure that's not appropriate anymore," Nico said, torn between laughing at Percy's shenanigans and curling into a ball to cry.

"It's always appropriate, as far as I'm concerned." He didn't elaborate, and Nico wasn't sure he wanted to ask. "Now, shall we go in?"

Nico sighed at the thought of going back into the noisy crowd, but he steeled himself and nodded. "Yeah."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, if you expected things to be simple, I don't know why I wrote those 20 chapters for :P


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! (And sorry for the late update)

"So you're over him now?" Jason asked.

After Percy's arrival, the party had continued, barely disturbed by his arrival. A lot of people had recognized him, particularly from the Camp Half-Blood folks, but aside from Will's strange kind of respect towards Percy, and Jason's pointed looks, there hadn't been anything worth noting.

And eventually, it had to end, leaving Jason and Nico at Jupiter's apartment. Since Nico had moved in in what used to be Jason's room, they'd gotten used to sharing it whenever Jason was in New York—the bed was large enough for two, anyway. This thought made Nico wonder what Jason had planned if he'd actually brought Percy home as Jason had clearly intended.

"I'm not sure," Nico confessed. "It just feels like I don't know him anymore." 

Jason groaned. "Man, that sucks. I was really rooting for you guys. Clearly I am a failure at organizing reunion-slash-birthday parties."

"Of course you'd make this all about _you_." Nico rolled over to glare at Jason, but he looked so upset as he stared at the ceiling that Nico's exasperation faded away. "Sorry. I'm not being fair. And the party was a success, as far as I'm concerned."

Jason glanced at him with a goofy smile. "Really?"

"Yeah. Although next time…maybe try something smaller. If you're up for a next time, I mean. I'm fine with just a handful of people."

Jason chuckled. "Noted." He returned to staring at the ceiling. "But really, it's a shame. I feel like you guys never had a proper chance at something good."

"We did have something good."

"For a _month_. Two if you count the time at Camp Half-Blood. Not exactly happily ever after."

"Well…what do you want me to say?"

"What exactly happened outside?"

"I told you. It felt like he was a stranger. We kissed, and…nothing."

"And he agreed?"

"He—" Nico paused, not exactly enthusiastic at the thought of conjuring the memory. "He knew it wasn't particularly great."

Jason hummed softly. "He knew it wasn't _for you_."

"What are you saying, that it was awesome for him? That he still wants me? Because he gave up pretty easily, then."

"Why wouldn't he? If he sees he doesn't have a chance with you anymore, I guess he'll try his best not to get in too deep." He paused. "I know what he told me for all this time. I doubt this was the kind of closure he expected."

Nico pondered Jason's words. He hadn't considered it then, but maybe there'd been a slight blush on Percy's cheeks, or signs of a short breath, that Nico hadn't seen in the dark and the buzz of the party. He couldn't be sure. "Well…it's not like we're never going to see each other again. I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later, if we start being friends again."

"Yeah. You will."

* * *

It ended up being 'sooner' rather than 'later', and perhaps a little too soon to Nico's liking. He was still deep in the complex process of college applications, and administrative shenanigans—something about lost paperwork—got him in on the Columbia campus barely a few days after his birthday.

As his luck would have it, he walked outside of the building a couple hours later, feeling drained and bored out of his brains, only to walk into a crowd of students leaving a class. Among them was Percy, who spotted him eerily quickly and called out to him with a loud, cheerful "Nico!"

"Hey," Nico said as they met halfway through the crowd.

"What're you doing here?"

"College application. Some form was lost, and apparently they needed me in person for it. Or, well, it was faster this way. You know how it is."

"I can imagine. And here I thought you'd come to see me!" Nico couldn't help but wince slightly at Percy's overly flirty tone, and he seemed to notice. "I—right. Never mind. It's good to see you again, Nico. I mean, without having to wait almost two years in-between."

Nico couldn't help but chuckle, which weirded him out a little—when had they reached the point where they could make light of their turbulent history? "Yeah. It's good to see you too." The words came much easier than Nico had expected.

There was a fleeting silence between the two of them, broken when Percy cleared his throat. "So, do you maybe have time for coffee? We didn't really—catch up—last time."

Nico was about to refuse, when his conversation with Jason came to his mind. He and Percy hadn't had any closure, had they? And postponing things wouldn't help. So he shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Percy knew a coffee shop nearby that he promised made the best coffees in existence. In truth, Nico was fairly certain he'd been charmed by the presence of a blue coffee on the menu, because his drink was mediocre at best. But the coffee was only a pretext, in the end, wasn't it?

"So," Percy started. "you're trying to get into Columbia?"

Nico shrugged. "I'm trying everything. Well, not _literally_ everything, you know, just— I thought, 'Why not?', and here I am."

"Famous last words," Percy said, chuckling. "I hope you get in. I'd hate to see you go far away."

Nico couldn't help but tense up at his words. Percy's text on his birthday, the heart-eyes, and his comment that they'd always be appropriate, came back to his mind. How could he have forgotten about them while Jason was telling him Percy still loved him? Maybe he'd been willfully blind. "Percy…" He wasn't sure what to say next.

Luckily, it seemed Percy understood. "Look, I know you don't feel that way about me anymore, but I just want to make it clear. I mean, I'm thrilled if we manage to be friends, and I promise that's all I wanted when I came to your birthday party, but then I saw you again and—I still love you, Nico."

Nico sat back, stunned—was it possible to be stunned even when you weren't really surprised? Apparently so.

"I fucked up, didn't I?" Percy sighed. "I'm sorry, I've just made this awkward. I'll just—go, I guess."

Percy's words got Nico out of his stupor. "No, no, stay." Percy froze, halfway up, and frowned at Nico, before sitting back down. "I'm glad you told me this," Nico continued. "It's just—I don't know where I am anymore."

"You don't need to spare my feelings, you know. You made it pretty clear at the party."

"I know. It's just—we've both changed, and I don't want to rush things. It's like I don't know you anymore, and I just want to figure that out before I can say something as big as 'I still love you'. I don't know where I stand." Maybe he didn't _want_ to know.

Percy nodded. "Fair enough. Well, we should hang out, then. Let you—figure that out." His voice was hoarse as he finished, but there was a large grin on his face.

Nico squirmed on his seat. "Right." Then, on an impulse, he added, "Or we could go to your place right now." Percy stared at him, stunned, and it took a moment for Nico to realize what he'd said. "I'm serious."

"It didn't exactly work when we rushed—" Nico reached across the table to kiss Percy, interrupting him. It was brief, and maybe a little awkward. But not the disaster it had been a few days before.

"Maybe I just needed to force myself to make a decision," Nico whispered before kissing him again.

* * *

The way to Percy's apartment was more of a race than a walk, weirdly cut with more small kisses and immobile moments when Percy stared at him as if he couldn't believe what they were doing—what they were about to do. If he were honest with himself, Nico couldn't believe it either. But he wanted to follow that impulse to the end—to see if he and Percy could still have something. If he could sleep with Will on numerous occasions after their breakup and not get back together with him, surely he could do the same with Percy and still wait before deciding if he wanted more?

The apartment was close to campus—Percy's mom had chosen it for that reason, after all—and it hadn't changed a bit. Nostalgia crashed against Nico's heart like so many waves at each familiar view, each familiar scent, leaving him dizzy and helpless when Percy pushed him against a wall near the entrance to kiss him hungrily. Nico grabbed him and pressed him even closer, feeling like he was on autopilot.

This was everything their kiss on his birthday _should_ have been: a homecoming. His heart was pumping, his nose was filled with familiar scents—the strongest being Percy's, so close as to be overpowering and yet nowhere near _enough_ after being deprived of it for so long—and his skin was electrified, aching for Percy's touch. The differences hadn't faded, but Nico felt like he was getting used to them already: their lack of a height difference meant they were slotted together without awkward angles, and Nico's experience combined with what he knew of Percy combined to guide him on an almost instinctual level as they inched towards the bedroom.

Percy briefly pulled away, short of breath, and Nico let out, "Oh, God, I missed you."

"Did you?"

"Yeah." He hadn't _realized_ it, but he _had_.

"I missed you _more_." Percy kissed him again as he said so, moaning against Nico's lips as he tried to lift him up—and failed. Chuckling, he let go of Nico. "Okay, change of plans."

Nico raised a questioning eyebrow at him, and Percy wordlessly pulled his shirt over his head with one hand, unbuckling his belt with the other.

"In a rush, are you?" Nico teased.

"You have no idea," Percy said as he struggled to take off his shoes. He dropped his clothes on the floor, and stood there, in his underwear—blue briefs that were far too tight against his erection. "I know I'm hot, but are you just going to watch me?"

Nico chuckled. "Don't flatter yourself."

He took out the packet he'd kept in his back pocket since his birthday—Jason's present—and his clothes joined Percy's on the floor, and he nearly tackled the boy in his hurry to get rid of the last offending piece of clothing on Percy's body. They landed on his couch, and Nico briefly interrupted himself.

"This is where we kissed for the first time. Well, after we reunited."

"Is it really time for this? Because there's a boner here that disagrees." He slid his fingers under the waistband of Nico's boxers, and slowly pulled them down. "Sorry: _two_ boners."

"Point taken." Still, Nico's hands moved more because of his memories than because Nico wanted them to, finding the sensitive spots along Percy's sides. The other boy's sharp intake of breath rewarded him, and he arced his back in a way that brought their erections against each other, the sudden contact making the furnace in Nico's body rage with renewed strength.

He slid a hand down, wrapping it around both of their dicks, and stroked slowly, while with the other, he recovered the small packet, using his teeth to tear it open.

"Not wasting any time, are you?" Percy teased.

Nico scoffed, but didn't answer him. "Got lube?" 

"I kind of never bothered to resupply."

Nico groaned—but he guessed it'd have to do. He rolled the condom down his own length, then grabbed Percy's left leg and pulled it above his right shoulder, presenting his ass for the taking. Giving his own dick one stroke to get some of the condom's lube on his fingers, he then pushed a finger in Percy's ass, slowly, but with an assurance he hadn't had the last time.

He wrapped his other arm around Percy's leg to keep it secure, and found the boy's cock with his hand, teasing the head of it with the tip of his fingers. In response, Percy jerked his head back, letting out a low moan—one that made Nico wish he'd had Percy suck on him before he made such sounds.

The fantasy was promptly dismissed—but kept for a later time—as he kept working to stretch Percy without lube. It wasn't like he lacked experience of that—he and Will had run out a few times before—but it was always delicate.

In the end, it proved pointless: as Nico barely entered a second finger, Percy's breathing grew short, and he cried out wordlessly as he came between Nico's fingers. Reflexively, one of Percy's hands wrapped around his cock to stroke himself through the orgasm, linking itself with Nico's hands in the process.

When Percy came down, Nico pulled his fingers out and let go of him. "Sorry," Percy said. "I—it's been a while."

"And here I thought I just had that big an effect on you." Percy stared at him, a dumbfounded expression on his face as his post-orgasm brain was probably unable to process the sarcasm. Chuckling, Nico reached up, slotting their bodies together as he kissed Percy. "I'll get over it. But you owe me an orgasm."

"I do," Percy said, sounding almost thoughtful. "Let me get to that. Sit up."

Intrigued, Nico obeyed, and Percy came down from the couch, kneeling on the floor in front of him as he grabbed Nico's cock with a hand. He winked at Nico, then suddenly, his mouth joined his hand, working together over Nico's dick. Nico let out a soft gasp, overwhelmed by the sensations as Percy's other hand started teasing Nico's nipples—which Percy knew fully well how sensitive they were.

Percy had given him blowjobs in the past, but Nico was fairly certain they'd always been on a bed—or at least lying down. In this position, Percy was _below_ him, and it gave Nico an odd, but exhilarating rush of power and dominance—one that grew even stronger when Percy looked up at him, looking strangely innocent through his eyelashes as he took more and more of Nico in his mouth.

Maybe Percy had noticed how much Nico had appreciated his moans earlier, because Percy let one out, running vibrations all over Nico's cock and sending him over the edge. He cried out Percy's name as the boy stroked and sucked him through his orgasm and beyond that.

Nico remained stunned, his head thrown back against the couch's cushion, even after his orgasm had passed through him. Percy climbed on his lap, straddling him and pressing their bodies together and crashing his lips against Nico's. He tasted his own come there along with all the other tastes of Percy, and suddenly realized both their chests were filthy with Percy's come from earlier. He didn't care, though. If it was possible to literally drown in sensations, Nico would have thought these were worth dying in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only the epilogue left! It should be there soon, but, well, you may have noticed I'm not good at regular updates, so I won't commit to anything more accurate. My personal deadline is this fic's one-year anniversary on January 30th, but it _should_ be earlier than that =P


	22. Epilogue

"Rise and shine, Nico."

Nico answered Percy's cheerful comment with a groan. "You _had_ to ruin it, didn't you?"

It had been five months now—well, five months and a day. Five months and a day since they'd bumped into each other on a college campus and ended up tangled on a couch together. Technically they'd officially been dating for only three and a half months, because Nico had stood firmly behind his decision to wait and figure out his own feelings.

Still, when Percy had invited him last night to "celebrate their five month anniversary", Nico hadn't protested. Just because he'd waited to put a label on it doesn't mean he was blind enough to the fact that they had been dating in all but the name.

That date, in the same restaurant Percy had brought him on their very first real date, so long ago—the waitress, Angela, had nearly squealed when she saw them together again. They'd gone back to Percy's apartment afterwards, and finally, Nico's slept over for the first time in those five months.

It was probably ridiculous to give any importance to that, considering they'd lived together, but it still was a big deal to Nico. And now Percy had ruined it by waking him up early.

Well, not quite ruined it. Tarnished the perfection a little bit. Though, as Percy pressed himself against him, Nico couldn't help but wonder what sleepy morning sex would be like with Percy. They'd never tried that, as far as Nico could remember. Maybe _that_ would make the moment even more perfect.

* * *

They got a Skype call from Jason a few hours later, an eerily familiar tune to break them out of their afterglow. Luckily, Percy's laptop was within reach from his bed, or they probably wouldn't have bothered to take it. 

Nico had expected the call. They'd been talking about it since the start of summer. He'd just never thought it would come on _this_ specific day.

"Pipes found the place," Jason's voice came, cheerful as ever. That he and Piper were on speaking term again was no surprise; that they _hadn't_ gone straight back to dating was more of a surprise, really. "It's literally right next to it."

"Don't you think that might be too close?" Nico noted. "I doubt any of us would want to be bothered by kids sneaking away from camp grounds."

"I doubt it. The grounds are pretty wide, you know. And if Percy and I never found the place in all seven years we were there, who would? Besides, it's kind of too late for second thoughts."

"Really?" Percy's enthusiasm leaked in every syllable—quite the accomplishment considering how exhausted he'd been moments before. "When do you guys get here?"

"Couple of days. Reyna'll be here tomorrow, though."

"We'll be here for her," Percy said. "Now if you don't mind, we still haven't had breakfast." He shut down the call before either Nico or Jason could protest, and turned to Nico with a wicked grin.

"'We haven't had breakfast'? That's your best excuse?"

"Well, we _haven't_. I'm starving."

Nico rolled his eyes. "You're _always_ starving after sex."

"Because you're not starving right now?"

Nico paused, and chuckled. "All right. Maybe a little."

They slowly got out of bed and headed to Percy's kitchen, not even bothering with clothes, and Nico sat down to watch Percy cook—a habit they'd developed over the past few months. Something new, one among many. And hopefully many more to come.

It was only when Percy sat across from him with two plates of his trademark pancakes (well, his mother's, really) that his bright demeanor faded slightly. "We're going back to Camp Half-Blood. Are you sure you're gonna be okay?"

Nico couldn't help but chuckle. "You _do_ realize I've already gone back on my own?"

Percy looked down. "Right. Sorry. I keep forgetting."

Nico chuckled. "Maybe I should remind you who I met there and make you jealous of our long and passionate romance—"

"You don't have to. But I intend to beat the record of length. As for passion, well, I'd like to think that's already done."

"Would you, now?" Nico teased. He doubted it was possible to really compare, but if it were, he was almost certain Percy would win. "Maybe I should find a way to compare you side by side." Percy nearly choked on his mouthful of pancake at the suggestion, making Nico laugh. Will _had_ offered, but Percy didn't actually know that—yet. Nico was just waiting for the right opportunity. Maybe it would come soon, since Will was joining their group on their vacation. "But seriously, I'll be fine. We can remember the good times we had there. That's why we chose Long Island, isn't it?"

Percy stared at him, thoughtful, and nodded. "Okay. Just checking."

"I know. But you worry too much."

"You say I worry, I say I care."

Nico smiled at him. "That you do. And I love you for it."

Percy had a tiny, adorable smile, and his cheeks flushed. He tended to do that whenever Nico told him he loved him—even after over three months since Nico had said it for the first time since they'd reunited, it was like he couldn't quite believe it yet. "Well, I love you too, you know that."

Nico couldn't help but scoff at him. "You don't have to say it back _every t—_ "

Percy cut him off with a kiss—long, tender, and sweet, both figuratively and literally with the taste of pancakes and syrup lingering in their mouths. "No, but I want to."

Nico remained silent for a moment, contemplating of his boyfriend's eyes. Loving eyes—an expression Nico wasn't sure he could get used to, wasn't sure he _wanted_ to get used to. "You know…" he started, finding it hard to form a full sentence while lost in the sea green.

"Hmm?"

"We'll still be there on the first of July, won't we?"

Percy frowned at him. "Probably?"

"Do you think we should celebrate _that_ anniversary? The first time we met?"

Percy's face lit up with a grin. "Well, I wasn't going to do anything, but if you ask…"

It was an obvious lie, but Nico didn't care. He just laughed along. "Three years later," he said, to himself as much as to Percy.

"Yeah. Almost three years, and it's only the first time you stay over. I'm sure our past selves would be disappointed in us right now."

Nico could have taken offense at his making light of everything. Or he could have tried, and failed when faced with his adorable, stupidly large goody grin. He didn't even bother. "As long as our future selves can look back with pride, I'm fine with this."

"I'm sure we will."

Nico couldn't agree more.


End file.
